Within the Waves
Niall and Louis were the only two of the group left on the pier. The others had walked away, dragging their things back to the car and giving the boys time to gather their things and have some 'Nouis-time' as Harry had happily christened it.
Niall and Louis stood by the edge of the long pier hand in hand, just watching as the deep, swirling water below them predicted tomorrows oncoming storm.
Niall looked up suddenly at Louis, a mischievous look in his eyes as he said "Ready to follow the others, Boo? I don't think I feel particularly like swimming right now." The deadly water slapped the base of the pier violently as he spoke as if to make it's point.
Louis smiled seductively back. "I think I can think of something else to preoccupy us instead, if you're sure you don't fancy a dip?" he replied.
The deep water had been closed off to swimmers since lunch-time as the upcoming storm was turning the violent water into nothing other than a death-trap, so neither boy was seriously considering going in and they would never actually let the other enter the hazardous water either, but that didn't stop the two joking about it.
Louis leaned in towards Niall, staring into his beautiful, big, blue eyes as the shone brightly in the evening light. They were just so mesmerising and Louis took a step towards those two kaleidascopes of blue and his gaze flickered down to the younger boys tempting lips that parted slightly as he leaned closer, capturing the soft lips forcefully with his own. God, he loved this boy. How could he have ever had his doubts or fears about doing this with the shy, sweet boy before him? How could he have ever even considered not admitting to loving the beautiful, kind-hearted lad he was kissing? The idea of not being able to do this, not being able to hold him like he did made Louis's heart clench.
Niall shuddered as the older boy deepened the kiss and gasped as Louis's tongue once again won their battle for dominance and began to explore deeper into his mouth. Every insecurity he had fell away as he lost himself in the other boy, every thought of embarrassment gone as his heart fluttered.
Louis took another step further in towards Niall and the boy stubbled backwards slightly, his lips ripped away from his lover as he felt the edge of the pier under his foot. His body tipped backwards and Louis wildly grabbed at his shirt, fear flooding him. The material, however, slid through the boy's clutching fingers and Niall fell backwards into the water.
A whirl of sound flooded his ears as his neck was whipped to the side and the icy water hit him. Everything was so loud and yet, it all seemed muted, it was as if cotton wool had been shoved over his ears and everyone was talking through megaphones to compensate. He heard the water crash around him deafeningly, swirling as a torrent of waves ripped his head back again and dragged him in ever further. Through the impending darkness that seemed to be coming from every direction, Niall registered that he must be going downwards, otherwise what little light that was left on the shore would have crept in towards him by now.
Through the ever-moving water, Niall could hear muffled cries from above. He tried to kick to the surface, but couldn't find it. The sound of the voices and the sound of the waves, mixed together in the water so that although Niall knew that the sounds were coming from above, he could no longer tell where 'above' was. To make matters worse, the darkness had now completely surrounded him, making it impossible to judge the direction by light.
One particular cry was louder than the rest. The reverberating sound formed something close to his name and he longed to respond, but he knew he had to keep his mouth shut, or the water would win and claim him as its prize.
It was cold in the water. Colder than Niall had ever felt before – an inescapable cold that seemed to be seeping further into him with every passing second, dragging a chilling panic with it. Completely disorientated, Niall kept kicking, but, as he started to feel his lungs scream for air, the water only got darker and more panic set in. He could be heading in any direction. He could be kicking himself further down into to the depths of the hungry ocean, which seemed all too eager to swallow him whole. He could be aiding his enemy.
He could not stop, however. If he stopped kicking, he would be allowing himself to give up, allowing himself to stop trying, to stop looking for a way out, for a way to the surface.
He tried to concentrate on the voice that was still calling his name with his clouding mind. He recognized the voice and he knew that she should know who it was, but he didn't. He couldn't picture the face that went with that familiar voice. The inability to do this felt wrong. He knew the voice, but his mind wouldn't let him think straight, everything was too confusing. It scared him.
He had to stop kicking; he could feel his legs burning as much as he could feel it in his lungs. He couldn't understand how his limbs could stay in that inferno of pure heat and pain whilst within the icy water. The fire and bone chill seemed to throb in unison in his body. Why had the water not put out the fire yet?
When he eventually stopped kicking, Niall could no-longer feel himself floating in the water; in fact, he could no longer feel the water at all. Every nerve in his body seemed to cease to exist. The numbing was a blessed relief to the cold, but it did nothing to stop the fire in his lungs. If anything, the fire was increasing.
Niall needed to breathe. That was the only thing that still registered in his brain at this point.
He needed to breathe. But, he couldn't breathe now. If he breathed now, bad things would happen, but he couldn't quite remember what those bad things were.
Red blotches were appearing in front of his eyes.
The bad things couldn't be that horrible, could they? Could those things really be worse than the torturous flames that were now all he could feel. The flames that should have incinerated his body by now, so why could he still feel them?
He had to breathe.
Niall was sure he must be falling, although the fire wouldn't let his senses confirm it.
He should breathe now. Just open his mouth and breathe. It didn't seem that hard.
Niall's vision went, but he didn't notice; everything was dark already.
Just breathe.
The noise was getting quieter and Niall was finding it even harder to think. A new patch of burning seemed to form on the surface of what he thought was his arm.
He opened his mouth, just as he broke the surface of the water.
Louis watched as Niall gasped for air. Niall's eyes were wide and his pupils were dilated, but he did not seem to be able to see him.
The terrified boy started to thump him on the back, sure that he would find water pouring from the younger boy's lungs and spilling onto the shore. To his relief, however, no water came out Niall's lungs. Instead, only the younger boy's desperate gasps continued, interrupted only by a cough when Louis saw fit to hit him on the back again, just to be sure.
Louis kept his other hand glued to Niall's right arm. It was in the same position as it had been seconds ago, when he pulled Niall out of the water and he could not bring himself to let go. He was sure that if he even thought about letting go of Niall, the younger boy would disappear completely. On some level he knew he was being stupid, but he still wouldn't let go. Just in case.
Niall's skin was very cold and as his frenzied gasps dissipated into ragged breathing, he started to shake violently. Louis had never seen anything like it. This wasn't just some small shiver; Niall's entire body was pulsating and Louis could not fathom where he had found the energy to do it. Niall looked far too exhausted.
His skin did not heat up however and Niall's effortful shakes did not seem to be able to improve his predicament. Louis fear curdled in his stomach as he hugged the freezing boy in his arms.
He called out for help.
It was nearing sunset and not many people were left on the small beach that sat beside the pier that Niall had fallen off, but a large man ran up from the small group that had tentatively gathered round the pair, but had been too scared or shocked to move closer before now. The man, who had snapped out of his horrified reverie at the sound of Louis's cry, quickly offered up the sandy towel in his arms which the boy desperately wrapped around Niall's slender frame.
Sounds of an ambulance reached the Louis's ears as the call made earlier by a nearby woman made its contribution.
Louis hugged Niall closer and felt his shivers lessen. The towel, although damp, seemed to already be having a positive effect on the other boy.
Niall looked up at him then, for the first time since he had fallen in the water and Louis was surprised to see that no fear lay beneath his eyes. Niall merely looked tired, almost peaceful and Louis felt himself relax slightly for the first time since the incident as Niall tried to give him one of those cute little smiles he used when he knew people were worried about him.
Louis heard the sound of the ambulance come round the corner. He looked behind him, only to see a few people from the small group begin to walk away in obvious relief. For them, the situation was over. They would go home and later forget all about this day. Even if it took some of them years to forget, the boy knew they would. Press would come and make a story of this, but in time it would all be forgotten. He knew this, just as he knew that he never would. He would remember this day forever.