A/N; Just a quick note that the end of this story is based loosely on One More Hour by Anthony Ramos. This is not a song-fic, just based off of some lyrics
FallenClan June Writing Comp
"Laurellll~" sang a lilting voice from the doorway of the trailer. The brunette in question groaned from her place on her bunk.
"Loooo!" She chirped once more, and when she saw the lack of response, the girl in the doorway continued. "Laur, Laurel, Lauri, Lala, Lali Berry-"
"Whaaaaat," whined Laurel, raising her messy head of light brown tresses to glare at the cheerful girl before her.
"Rise and shine, little bug," she sang. "We've got a big day ahead of us!"
Laurel squinted at her and reached to rifle through the objects atop the table nearby. Her fingers found the cool, smooth surface of her phone and clicked it on. She hissed at
the brightness and looked at the time.
"Seriously, Olive? It's not even seven!" Laurel complained, shooting her friend another glare.
"Yes, but it's as bright as noon out! Now get your butt out of bed, we've got a polar plunge to get to!" Olive exclaimed with a clap, not seeming to notice the dark flyaways floating in her vision. Laurel narrowed her eyes, finding it incredibly difficult not to go fix the unruly girl's hair.
"Starclan, you're impossible..." Laurel grumbled as she untangled herself from her sleeping bag, yawning as obnoxiously as possible to try and prove to Olive that this, in fact, was unnecessary.
Laurel shoed Olive, then clambered clumsily into a pair of shorts and the uniform tye dye shirt labeled "WindClan High GSA" in big, bold white print across the front.
She finished getting ready and slunk out of the trailer to see a grinning Olive standing right outside with some type of cloth in her hands. Laurel raised a suspicious brow.
"Hey, you really think I'm gonna let you do the polar plunge in that?" Olive asked, pointing an accusing finger straight at Laurel's chest.
"Um. Yes?" Laurel creased her brows, staring at her best friend as if it were obvious.
"Nope, nope nope nope, noooo way. I spent way too long making that shirt for it to go into the ocean." Olive pushed the cloth, which Laurel quickly found was a bathing suit, into her arms and marched her right back into her trailer to change.
"You are impossible," huffed Laurel as she shuffled to the bathroom to change.
"You love me," she heard the cheeky response as she closed the door behind her. She paused for a moment, blinking as her mind whirled. But, Laurel, ever the sensible one, shook her head and swiftly changed, taking a quick glance in the mirror.
The swimsuit was a pale yellow color, not too far off from the berries of the plants after which she was named. It suited her light tan, and brought out the homey tones in her brown eyes. She quite liked it, the way it hugged her thin frame and cut just beneath her chest to expose part of her stomach. She felt attractive, for once.
With boosted confidence, she slipped her former outfit on over her suit and skipped out.
"Well you look happy," Piped the voice of her mother, Heron, from the kitchen. It seemed as though she'd just been having a conversation with Olive, as she was leaned against the counter nursing a cup of day-old coffee while Olive sat on one of the single couches across from her.
"Yeah, just a minute ago you were being such a grumpy pus," Olive chimed with a smug pointed Laurel's way. The brunette stuck out her tongue, crossing her arms.
"Oh whatever, you woke me up before seven. As far as I'm concerned, that's a crime."
Heron snorted from her spot in the kitchen, and quickly tried to hide her amusement by sipping from her cup. Laurel glared at her.
"Well, Mum I'm just feeling confident right now." Olive, quick to catch on to the reason, perked up.
"You like it?" Laurel hardly wanted to give her the satisfaction of cheering her up, but she nodded nevertheless.
"It's very flattering," she hummed, trying to sound indifferent.
"Soooo you like it," teased Olive. "I knew you would! I am a fashionista after all!" she declared.
"Yeah, yeah, okay, I like it. Now, are you done? We're gonna be late for the plunge," Laurel huffed, only earning an energetic nod from her friend as she hopped up off of her seat and bounded towards the door.
"Bye, Mum!" Olive called, earning a light laugh from the older woman in question.
"She's cute, y'know. Totally out of your league, but cute," Heron teased, eyes glinting with amusement. Laurel glared at her with the slightest of smiles, but she knew that even if her mother's words were a joke, there was truth behind them.
"Shush. Go get Mumsie up or she'll sleep till noon," she snapped, marching out of the trailer. She heard Heron's loud laughter as she left behind the tree-covered campsite and dashed after Olive, now just a multicolored dot down the gravel road.
The trip to the beach was pretty short, it was only a five minute walk, but Laurel gaped when she saw the turnout so far. One person. One. Person.
The ginger man looked up from the towels he was setting out and waved them over, a brilliant smile on his slightly burnt face.
"Newt! How're the preparations coming?" Olive asked from beside Laurel, who now stared at her questioningly.
"Great! Just finished setting up the brunch buffet and I'm working on the towels now. People should be here 'round eight," he responded, seeming not to notice as Laurel's face turned red with anger.
She shot Olive an 'are you shitting me' look, to which she received a smile that only looked mildly apologetic.
"Hey, m'sorry, I thought it was at seven!" Olive tried to defend, but Laurel saw right through the lie.
"You have five seconds to run before I throw you in," Laurel warned, though she was only half serious as she pointed towards the ocean. The moving blue expanse looked like ice all on it's own, and Olive didn't hesitate to bolt.
Laurel heard Newt's snickering beside her as he grabbed a strawberry from the fruit platter. The juice dribbled down his chin, and Laurel found it hard not to snort at his stupid face. "You gonna chase her or not? This is supposed to be the best free entertainment out there," he prodded, wiping at his chin with a satisfied smirk.
"I thought you'd find folding towels perfectly entertaining," Laurel retorted, gaze flickering to Olive, who was still busy running along the wet sand by the water. She began slipping off her sandals, ready to give chase.
"You are sorely mistaken, m'lady. I quite prefer watching Olive leave you in the dust." The annoying nickname earned a dramatic eye roll from Laurel as she set off to chase down her best friend.
"'Know what? I like you a lot more when you aren't talking , asshole!" She called after him, sending him a playful grin before she fully gave chase.
By now, Olive was pretty far away, at least four tree-lengths. Laurel had to hold back a groan as her soles pounded against the hard, wet sand of the shoreline. Laurel, though she was the taller of the two, found it incredibly difficult to keep up. Being a drama kid for seven years straight did nothing for her seemingly non-existent athelesism. Damn Olive's stupid lacrosse team.
The early morning sun was beating down on the two of them as Laurel tried and failed to catch Olive, who was too busy expertly weaving through driftwood and other sea debris to notice how far ahead she was. "Ollie!" Gasped Laurel, breathless. "I give up! Come back!"
At this, the italian girl turned, interest piqued. Even despite her high-speed trek through the sand, her braid still seemed perfectly intact. The only thing that remotely gave away the fact that she had run at all was the slight glisten on her freckled nose. God, that wasn't fair, Laurel was already a sweaty mess. The ocean seemed more and more appealing as time went on.
Olive was quick to skip back towards the tired brunette, who gave a defeated sigh when her friend flashed a cheeky grin. "Shut it. You only won because I was going easy on you," Laurel lied, trying to stand up straight and hide her obvious pant. Olive simply laughed at her.
"Yes, and that is why you're sweating as if you've just been in a sauna for hours," she innocently pestered, beginning to head back towards the party. By then, more people had begun to show up, mingling around the buffet table. When the girls reached the group, they were greeted by a very amused looking strawberry blonde.
"That was quite the show! Well done ladies, well done!" She laughed, clapping her hands. Olive grinned.
"Why thank you, Blossom, thank you very much." She bent over in a dramatic bow. Laurel pursed her lips and looked awkwardly around.
"How's the party so far? Crowd's growing," she commented, using her shirt to wipe the sweat from her brow.
"Good! Newt's done a great job setting up, hasn't he?" The girl looked towards her boyfriend fondly. Laurel followed her gaze to see Newt with his arm around a familiar platinum blonde man, drink raised in the air as some kind of toast.
"He has, surprisingly enough. Know when the plung'll be?" Olive asked from beside Laurel, hazel eyes turning to the strawberry blonde.
"Oh! Think we've got a solid 20 minutes. Help yourselves to the buffet, I know I'm starving," she laughed.
Laurel nodded in agreement, feeling the familiar twinge of hunger in her belly. All three girls headed to grab some food. Laurel found a nice spot on a stone nearby, and Olive, Newt, and Webster joined them. Blossom was busy chatting with Oakley, Newt's incredibly sweet younger cousin.
They all joked around for a while, stuffing their faces and laughing at each other's faces when someone would say something absolutely outlandish.
"I swear! He totally said he'd "tap that" IN FRONT of Blossom!" Newt exclaimed, and Laurel was practically bent over laughing.
"Jesus, Web!" She exclaimed, snorting through her laughter. "You have got to sort out your oblivion, that's absolutely mad!"
While the group laughed, sipping on their drinks as they tried to calm down, Laurel found her gaze on a beautiful hazel. She stared for a few moments, seeming to zone out before she realized who exactly she was staring at- and that they were staring back. Olive was peering curiously at her, eyebrows raised ever so slightly and eyes shining with more than just the glimmer of the sun. Laurel almost forgot how to breath. What on earth?
She blinked, breaking the contact, and made every attempt to try and cover up her moment of confusion- if she could even call it that. She looked around at the other men, but they didn't seem to notice. Awkwardly, she traced her finger on her thigh, trying to figure out why she felt a bit queasy. Maybe breakfast just didn't agree with her. But, even with that thought, hazel orbs floated in her mind.
Soon enough, eight o'clock came and the polar plunge participants lined up along the shore. Some wore their event shirts, some wore bathing suits, and the unlucky few who had been dragged into it last minute were standing in their undergarments, shivering in the breeze. Blossom was busy fidgeting with a video camera, trying to set it up on a timer to capture the moment this group of stupid teenagers would dive head-first into the ocean.
Olive stood by Laurel's side, and the two girls shared a look. Laurel was nervous, unsure of how the icy water would feel on her skin so early in the morning, but Olive seemed reasonably excited. She'd always been the more daring of the two. As far as Laurel knew, Olive could do this every Sunday and be perfectly fine. She was crazy, honestly, and she would not put it past her.
"Alright! Ready kids?" Called Blossom from her spot by the camera.
"Aye aye, Captain!" Shouted Newt jokingly, earning a ripple of laughs from the crowd.
"Recording starts in 10…" Laurel watched as Blossom tore her hands from the camera and bolted towards them, kicking up sand.
"Nine!" Shouted Olive, looking along the faces of her friends to get them to cheer with her.
"Eight!"
Laurel fidgeted with the hem of her bottoms, looking to the different faces surrounding her.
"Seven!"
She didn't join in on the cheering, instead trying to keep from thinking about how cold the water would be.
"Six!"
Olive's voice rose above the rest.
"Five!"
Laurel glanced her way.
"Four!"
Honey eyes met hazel.
"Three!"
Olive gave her a bright smile.
"Two!"
She reached for her hand.
"One!" Laurel shouted, grasping Olive's hand tightly. In a whirl of sand, water, and loud screams of shock, the group jolted forward and ran clumsily through the water. Laurel took a deep breath and dove under the incoming waves.
Ice shot through Laurel's veins, and she found herself gasping once her head broke the water. She heard a chorus of shrieks and "holy shit!", which she quickly joined. "Jesus Christ! COLD COLD COLD!" She squealed, eyes wide as she frantically paddled back towards the shore.
She felt a weight in her hand, but only tugged harder on it so she could get back to the shore. The ocean was fucking cold, no way in hell was she going to dilly dally on her way out of it.
Once she reached the waist-deep water, she stood and clambered out onto the sand. The weight came with her, and it was laughing hysterically.
Laurel looked back, teeth chattering, to find Olive there, cackling her ass off with her hair clinging messily to her bronze face. Laurel's chest leapt from the exhilaration (because Starclan, she'd never admit that same leap when they met eyes) and a stupid grin spread across her face.
"WOOHOO!!" Shouted Olive as she grinned up at her best friend, eyes alight with excitement. "That was amazing!"
"You're insane," breathed Laurel, unable to stop her grin as her fingers lingered on her skin.
Their eyes met, and once again, Laurel couldn't bring herself to pull hers away. Both of them stood staring, grinning like idiots for a few moments too long, before Newt and Blossom interrupted, inviting them to come swim properly.
Reluctantly, Laurel agreed, and this time without Olive's hand in hers, she waded out with them and started trying to jump over the waves. While she did, everyone else chatted.
"Starclan, she was an awful kisser-" Olive snorted as she recounted one of her many poorly-performing exes. "It was either smashing her nose into mine or trying to shove her tongue down my throat, I swear! There was no in between, it was awful!"
Laurel wrinkled her nose. "Pft, even I could do better than that," she scoffed, running her finger tips across the water's surface.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"You wanna show me?"
Laurel just about choked on her own tongue at the words that left Olive's mouth. She stared, wide-eyed, at the smug-looking girl beside her. If she stared long enough, she swore she could see a nervous glint behind her otherwise teasing eyes. She blinked.
"I- um.. Yeah-! Yeah, sure, I will-" Laurel spluttered, crossing her arms.
"Really?" Olive leaned up towards her, and Laurel just about died right there. This was too much for her poor brain to handle. They'd always been just friends before, but honestly? She didn't want to be anywhere else but in this moment.
"Really…" Laurel breathed, unable to resist the pull between them. Before she could second guess herself, she pressed forward and left a chaste kiss to the corner of Olive's lips. Realizing what she'd done, her eyes widened and she became a blubbering mess.
"I-I'm sorry!" She squeaked. "I- um- Did I prove my point?" She tried, knowing damn well that did not constitute as a kiss.
"Well you missed," Olive hummed, and Laurel was shocked to find a rosy hint to the Italian girl's cheeks as she looked up at her.
"I- what?"
"You missed," the girl repeated, and before she knew it, Olive had grabbed her face and pulled her to her own, pressing their lips together in a quick but meaningful kiss.
Laurel was speechless.
Olive immediately became shy, and Laurel hardly noticed as she waved Newt and Blossom away, face warm. "We… we should probably head back to the camp. We uh… we've been out for a while, I think our parents will be looking for us. I-I can walk you back, if you want-"
"Stop," Laurel muttered, her nerves blazing. "Let's go one more hour." With all of the confidence she could muster, she pulled Olive back in, longer this time.
Both girls grinned at each other.
It was more than just one more hour.