Elliot looped his fingers through Sarah's, and she felt her face heat up and her skin get goose bumps. Just being around Elliot caused her to feel like this daily. The familiar skin heating, heart racing, hands clamming sensation that coursed through her every time she was near him. It was obvious she was in love, and she hoped he felt the same way. Because she was on a high and wasn't getting off any time soon.
Comfortable silence surrounded the two of them as they headed to their favorite spot, the gondola. Ever since that first mud fight, they met each other there whenever possible. It just held so many happy memories of first kisses, laughs, heart to heart conversations, and hugs that it deemed worthy enough to be their permanent date spot. And they went there at least three times a week to meet each other. It was rare that they ever got to spend a single moment alone back at the houses and were usually interrupted by one of their siblings, telling them to "get a room" or the likes. And also, the haunting prospect that summer wouldn't last forever hung over them like a storm cloud. Although they didn't talk about it, it was still ever so present and lingering in the air between them. But for now, they made an unspoken agreement that they wouldn't talk about what was bound to happen and instead live in the present.
And so Sarah and Elliot trekked through the forest, hands intertwined and hearts beating at the same rhythm. Leaves crunched under their boots with every step, and bird songs filled the air. It was like a scene in a movie; the whole setting was perfect and surreal. Sarah couldn't feel any happier than right now.
"Elliot?" She wondered aloud, her voice chopping through the surprisingly chilly air. He hummed in response, his eyes focused ahead and a smile on his face. "You won't forget me after this summer, right?"
Elliot quickly looked over at her in shock, not expecting that question. "Why do you ask?" His voice was laced with worry. It was obvious now to her that he loved her just as much as she loved him. That brought a goofy grin to her face.
"No reason," She looked at him and couldn't help but smile. The way he looked when he was nervous was so adorable, how his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion and his eyes grew big. He returned the smile as he paused for a second, as if gathering his thoughts before speaking. That was one of the things she liked most about him; he was so collected and calm. Always thinking before he spoke. Sarah was the complete opposite, speaking without thinking and sometimes even accidently hurting someone's feelings. They were opposites, but like they say: opposites attract.
"Sarah, no matter how hard I try I don't think I could or ever will forget you." He told her before kissing her lightly on her cheek and making every fiber in her body erupt into fireworks and creating a shock wave in her feet all the way up to her head. The imprint of his lips were still a ghost on her skin as they continued on down the pathway.
"Good, because I know for a fact I wouldn't forget you either." Sarah said, her face beaming.
"Aww. You're cute when you're happy." Elliot laughed and flicked her on her nose. Sarah rubbed it and pretended to look offended
"Don't touch my nose; you're gonna get it all dirty with your grubby fingers." She pretended to be offended, hitting her hips against his and knocking him momentarily off the path. Elliot rolled his eyes with a laugh and jumped back on the path, copying her move and sending her stumbling.
"My fingers are NOT grubby. And your nose is already dirty," suddenly Elliot was smearing dirt and grass onto her nose, making her scream and jump back in alarm. "See?"
Elliot laughed as Sarah wiped all the dirt from her nose, giving him a scowl the whole time. "Oh, you'll pay for that."
"Aww. You're cute when you're mad." He teased, a smirk plastered on his face. Even through her act, Sarah couldn't help but smile at it.
"Just shut up and run," Sarah attempted to hide her smile as she scooped a handful of dirt. Elliot took off running in the direction of the gondola with Sarah close behind, the two of them trying to stifle their laughter. Hanging out at the gondola usually ended up with mud fights in the shallows of the lake, so this was no different.
Elliot quickly ducked behind a large oak tree, its leaves a deep green. Sarah followed him, laughing as she blindly lodged the clump of mud in Elliot's direction. He easily dodged it and stuck out his tongue.
"Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me." Elliot taunted, and she rolled her eyes at his antics but walked up to him.
"Come here, then," she mumbled, quickly looping her arms around her boyfriend's neck and nuzzling into his shoulder. She felt his arms move and wrap around her hips, pulling her close. She breathed in and smiled. He smelled like mint and chlorine. It was a nice mixture, when put together. It became the smell she recognized as Elliot's.
"I'll never forget you, you know that?" Elliot said, his lips pressed against her head. Sarah smiled even wider, if possible. She raised her head to look up at him but didn't release him from her arms.
"And I won't forget you." With one last smile she locked her lips with his. He was surprised at first but quickly kissed back, pulling her even closer to his body. Their lips fit together perfectly, Sarah realized with a jumble of giddy emotions. It was surprising how happy someone could make you.
She moved her hands up and knotted her fingers in his hair and kissed him back, loving the feeling of being together with no interruptions stopping them. No fathers around, or siblings either, no chaos and destruction and drama. Just the two of them, their lips locked and breathing rough.
Elliot quickly deepened the kiss, poking at his girlfriend's lips with his tongue, begging for entrance. She parted her lips a bit and Elliot took the opportunity before she could do anything else. Sarah could feel her face flushing and her heartbeat quickening as their tongues battled for dominance. Elliot won, being the competitive, cheeky boy Sarah came to know and love. So instead, she let him kiss her as she slowly trailed her hands down his rock hard stomach and looped her fingers into the belt loops on his pants, tugging him closer. Elliot sighed into the kiss before pulling away and resting his forehead on hers. Sarah opened her eyes to meet his, catching her breath, a pout on her lips. She wanted to keep kissing him, to be able to kiss him for the rest of the eternity. His eyes wandered across her face as Sarah watched him.
"What?" She finally asked with a giggle. She felt him shrug, their bodies still pressed up together.
"I'm memorizing your face as much as possible, so when… you know… you have to leave, I'll remember this moment forever." He told her with a smile before moving back and planting a kiss on her forehead, then her nose, and lastly her lips.
Sarah opened her eyes when he finally broke the embrace. "That was probably the most cheesiest thing you've ever said to me." She taunted him with a smile. His face turned red as he shrugged. "But I like it."
"I thought so. Now, come on!" Elliot chuckled, his face turning to his original color as he reached out and looped his fingers in hers and the two began walking again.
The gondola came into view and Sarah followed Elliot up the steps, both of their hands still intertwined and comfortable silence around them. Suddenly, Elliot stopped dead in his tracks and Sarah knocked into him, almost barreling the both of them over.
"What…?" Elliot's voice sounded flabbergasted. Confused, Sarah pushed him to the side and peaked over his shoulder to see what was wrong.
Sitting on the steps opposite them was Henry and Becky, their lips locked. Doing the exact same thing Elliot and Sarah were just doing. The only different thing was that Henry's hands were dangerously low on Becky's hips, brushing the hemline of her shirt. And she was letting him!
"What… the hell?! Get off my sister!" Elliot screeched in fury and charged over to them. The two broke apart and leapt almost two feet backwards, startled that they were caught in the act. Henry gasped as Elliot suddenly pushed him off the gondola's four steps and down onto the dirt below.
"What do you think you were just doing to her? I saw everything!" Elliot was on a rampage, now hurtling down the steps to meet Henry at the bottom. He loomed over the poor boy in rage, fuming. Sarah quickly darted past Becky, who was still rooted on the steps in shock, and down the steps to the two boys.
Henry got himself up from the ground and backed away, nervous. "I-I'm sorry man! I didn't know you were there. I just-"
"Just what?! She has a boyfriend, you… you idiot!" Elliot gave Henry's chest a shove, but it barely moved the bulky, muscular boy. "You just threw yourself at her, didn't you? Thought nobody would see you two? WELL I JUST DID!"
"Elliot, stop!" Becky broke from her trance and leapt up from her spot, turning on her brother. "Don't you dare blame this on him! I was part of it, too!"
Elliot whirled towards his sister, his anger now peaking. "Exactly! You have a boyfriend, Becky! What are you, stupid or something?"
Something snapped in Becky. Sarah watched as the color of her eyes changed from an ocean blue to a dark, blooming navy. "What did you just call me?" She asked, her voice laced with venom.
Elliot immediately halted, realizing what he just said. "Oh! N-n-no! Becky, I didn't mean it like that. It's Henry that's the stupid one. I was just- I was just trying to protect you!"
"No! You're just being an overprotective, controlling twat that's trying to control my life, just like dad! Newsflash! I DON'T need protection. God, why does everyone think I need it? I'm 14 years old, and I can make my own decisions! I. Can. Handle myself." And with that Becky was leapt from the gondola and stormed off, mainly only in a hurry to escape the horrors of what she just brought upon herself.
"Becky, wait! I'm sorry!" Elliot called after her, but Becky quickly disappeared down the hill towards the lake.
Elliot turned to Henry, angrier than ever. "Look what you just did!"
Sarah quickly stepped in between the two, bringing her hands up to separate Elliot from Henry. "Elliot, stop it before you hurt him! Just calm down," she pleaded, watching Elliot's chest rise up in down in a scary manor. He was livid. "We can work this out. I'm just as mad as you are, but there's no need to pummel my brother into a pulp. Even though I'd love to see that right now,"
When Elliot was mad, he didn't think. He wasn't calm and controlled like he normally was, he didn't think before he spoke, and he quite resembled Sarah and he tendency to do be reckless. Or, in this case, beat someone up without an explanation. He really, in a certain way, was just like his father: overprotective.
Slowly, at the sound of Sarah's voice Elliot backed away, but his glare remained focused on Henry. Henry looked back and forth between Sarah and Elliot, his hands positioned into fists in case he needed to protect himself. But before Elliot could do anything else, Sarah whirled on Henry.
"How could you?" She spat at him, her fury now taking over once she knew Elliot wasn't going to do anything dangerous. "Jake loves her. He loves her, and you kissed her behind his back! You're his brother!"
Henry looked dumbfounded, and panic was written all across his face. "What?! How did you expect me to know that? I thought he liked Lisa!"
"See? You're so arrogant that you don't even know what's going on with Jake right now! He's hurt and lost and confused and I'm the only one that's been noticing. You're an awful brother!"
Hurt and fury lit up Henry's eyes and Sarah knew she had taken it a step too far, per usual. Right on cue, Sarah Baker. She thought to herself.
"I told you I didn't know! If I did, I wouldn't have kissed her. It was a mistake! I know I was wrong. But you have no right to call me a bad brother. Last time I checked, I wasn't hooking up with my boyfriend in a tent in the middle of the night, right under dad's nose!"
That quickly shut Sarah up. "W-what? What are you talking about? That has nothing to do with what just happened. I-I mean, not that I did that-" she began to stutter, not knowing what else to say. That night she could've sworn everybody was asleep. Had he been up as well?
Henry smirked. "Yeah, that's right! I saw it. I went inside for a glass of water and when I came out, I saw Elliot sneaking towards your tent. And guess what? I realized just now, it is so easy to tweak one little tiny detail. Everybody has secrets. You have yours and I have mine. Why tell those secrets to the world, am I right? And anyways what happened inside that tent, Sarah Baker?"
Sarah's eyes widened, distrust and desperation rolling off her in waves. She finally understood. In bargain for keeping his secret, he would keep hers. "You wouldn't…"
"Oh, I would." Henry nodded, his eyes matching hers in desperation. " Come on, Sarah. Just forget it. No need to create every more drama in our family; the wedding is plenty enough. Jake doesn't need any either, if he's hurting so bad. So… nothing happened here, right?"
And all at once, Sarah felt hatred towards her brother so big it almost scared her. Mixed with it was the sensation of being hurt, knowing her brother would blackmail her just to keep a secret from the rest of the family. A very big one at that.
"I hate you," Sarah whispered, feeling tears well in her eyes. She didn't know why, but she was frustrated and conflicted all at once.
Henry's face fell, but he didn't back down. "I know. Do we have a deal?"
Sarah glared daggers at her awful brother. "Deal,"
Yes, this is one of the plot twists I've been talking about. I really, really hope you guys don't hate me for it! I'm kind of scared of how you guys will react. Didn't expect that coming, did you? That was the plan(: And that fight was really heated, I know... Don't worry, they'll calm down soon enough! Sarah doesn't literally hate Henry, I just needed to spice things up, and anyways, a lot of people were telling me in their reviews that they liked Henry and Becky together better than Becky and Jake. It was one of the pairings that were most common in other fanfictions. So I was just trying to make everybody happy with this story(: And add more drama… And I'm not saying Becky's going to end up with Henry, but I'm not saying she's going to end up with Jake either… Only I know what happens in the end! But what did you guys think about this chapter?
And okay, I surprisingly really loved how the Sarah/Elliot kissing scene came out. It went shockingly well, and I thought when the time came and I'd have to write it, that it would be sloppy and poorly written. But I quite like how it turned out to be(: I'm only 14, so I haven't had any experience with the whole French kissing thing. Hehe(; But that part was for all of you Sarah/Elliot shippers!
And on another note, I dunno why, but I've just always imagined Sarah and Elliot to be the kind of couple that expresses their love daily and is the kind of touchy-feely pair. So that's why I made them all lovey-dovey in the beginning. The two of them haven't had many scenes like that together anymore, and so they needed it. I could write about the two of them all day. They kind of remind me of Allie and Noah from the Notebook, if any of you have watched that movie(:
And also, on the angry parts, I had no idea how to display the yelling and fighting scene so I bolded some of the letters to give the words more character. Sorry if that annoys you! I don't know how else to show the anger that was being thrown around.
And one last thing, I've kind of realized I've made a lot of different characters have mud fights. I don't know why, but I guess a mud fight between a couple sounds cute, so… oh well! I promise I won't write any more mud fight situations. (;
Love you guys3