Summer woke up to find Freddy standing by the mouth of the cave, hands shoved deep into pockets.
"We'd better make a move," he said briefly, not looking at her. She wondered what was up with him, but stood up. The world spun around her, and she sat down again sharply. She passed a hand in front of her eyes, seeing only red spots whirling around... and around...
She forced herself to stand up, and held onto a ledge for support. She eventually managed to stay upright, and brushed down her skirt. She took a few steps, and shivered. It was cold... so cold... She tugged Freddy's Nirvana hoodie down, and pulled it further around her, trying to ignore the chattering of her teeth. She stumbled towards him, and leant against the wall of the cave, trying to regain her balance. Freddy turned towards her, still not looking her in the eye.
"I can see where the water is," he muttered, "so it should only take us today to finish. I know it took us longer than that to get up here, but if we hurry down..." His voice floated in and out of her mind and she managed, with difficulty, to latch onto some of his words. I can see where the water is...
"Water?" she asked thickly, her voice slurred slightly, and rough. "What water?" Freddy looked at her face, still missing her eyes.
"The water we need for the Sage," he said, and it echoed around her brain. The water we need for the Sage... the Sage... Sage... age... Sage? She tried to think, but it hurt her, and she could feel her head throbbing slightly. She eventually remembered.
"Oh... the water..." He made no reply however, having already started out of the cave. She made herself follow him, but which him? There were two... four... eight... She blinked two, three, four times. He was down to two now, and as she stared they both turned around.
"Tink-er-bell," they boomed, swooping around her vision. She giggled weakly.
"I didn't know you could fly, Freddy. Can I fly, too? Can I fly down the mountain?"
"No-o ...Tink, are you-oo – oh-ok-ay?"
"Fine, Freddy," she whispered, swaying from side to side. "I love you," she added, before simply crumpling into a heap. He ran over and caught her before her head hit the ground, but she was out cold. She was shivering badly, but when he felt her forehead she was hot, almost on fire. She was burning up. He picked her up gently, and turned to look at the top of the mountain. It would take him only fifteen minutes to get up there and back, but was it fifteen minutes too many? He made a split second decision, and started to run down the mountain.
He was near the bottom when he tripped, and somersaulted down, rolling over and over. He protected Summer with his body – there was no way he was going to let her get hurt. He sat up carefully, and thought how funny the situation would have been if he'd been in a position to laugh – the two of them looking as though they were in some passionate embrace, when really he was scared for her life.
He lay her on the soft grass and stood up. He brushed himself down, more from habit than anything else, and lifted her again. He checked her pulse, and it was fast and irregular. If only he had his skateboard – he could be...
Where? Where could he be? Where was he going? The hospital. Or, as Summer used to call it in kindergarten, the hopsicle.
He wasted no more time thinking about it, but hurried off.
Freddy sat opposite the Sage, clutching a bowl of tap water in his hands.
"Is this it?" asked the Sage, from where he was sat cross-legged on the floor. Freddy nodded, and shifted uncomfortably. "Let me see," he commanded, and Freddy obediently leant across and gave him it. The Sage peered into it, staring intently at his reflection in the clear depths. Freddy sighed loudly, and the Sage looked up.
"What?" snapped Freddy. The Sage said nothing, just looked back into the bowl, making Freddy feel a little ashamed. Truth was, he was worried about Summer, even though he hated to admit it. It was all his fault. If he hadn't been arguing with her all the time, if he hadn't provoked her to slap him, if... if... if...
All those 'if's flew around him, like birds, in one ear and out the other. He shook his head violently, his blonde spikes staying solid as a rock. The Sage seemed to be finished with the bowl, as he placed it on a small mahogany table, which was carved to look like an elephant.
"Well?" said Freddy rudely. All his anxieties just made him madder. Summer would be ok. But how did he know that? He didn't. And that led to his, shall we say, somewhat short temper.
"Well what?" asked the Sage serenely.
"Well! Well, is that it? Well, are we cured now? Well, can I go?" The Sage shook his head slowly, with a faint smile. It was no to all the questions.
"You must stay."
"No way!" yelled Freddy instinctively, leaping up. "You can't be serious!" However, one look at the Sage's calm smile told him otherwise. "Fine," he said, sinking back down. "How long for?"
"Until the girl comes."
"The girl? Her name's Summer! And remember that! Besides, she's in hospital."
"I know." Freddy was about to say something else, about to make the Sage stop smiling somehow, but at that minute his cell phone vibrated, causing him to jump about half a mile in the air.
"Hello?"
"Freddy?"
"Well, no. This is my cell phone. Who the hell are you?" There it was again – all his worries about Summer coming through when he talked to other people.
"Look, never mind. Where are you?"
"The Sage's." He wasn't going to say at first, but figured if it wasn't someone who knew him, then they wouldn't know where the Sage's was. It must be someone who knew him anyway, otherwise how would they know his name?
"Ok, hold on – I'll be right there."
"But who are y-" He got cut off by the dialing tone, and frowned before flipping his phone shut, and shoving it back into one of his deep pockets. He looked up and noticed the Sage smiling again.
"Stop smiling, man!"
"Why? Does it bother you?"
"Yes! Just shut up, you sound like my psychiatrist." The Sage's wizened little face nodded (think Yoda but taller and not green), and he busied himself making tea, using all kinds of herbs and such things. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door.
"Enter." The door swung open slowly, and Summer walked in.
"TINK!" whooped Freddy. "You're out of hospital!" He ran over to her, and swept her up in a big bear hug, swinging her around. She flung her head back and laughed, eyes sparkling. He set her down carefully, and faced her. "So what was wrong with you?"
"I'm not sure, I didn't ask. I was just so pleased to be out of there!" She suddenly remembered something, and lowered her voice. "Did you get the water?"
Freddy glanced at the Sage, who didn't appear to be listening. All the same, he spoke quietly.
"No. I just filled up that bowl with tap water, he can't seem to tell the difference." Summer nodded, and Freddy took her hand and led her over to the mats, where they sat down next to each other. The Sage smiled and, picking up the bowl of water, he threw it out of the window. Freddy and Summer both gasped.
"What the hell was that for?" he demanded angrily.
"I'll have you know I nearly died for that water!" Summer added. Freddy looked at her.
"Really?" She turned to look at him, with a questioning look.
"Really what?"
"Did you really nearly die?" he asked. She smiled sadly.
"The doctor said that if I hadn't been taken to the hospital so quickly, I might have died. You saved my life, Freddy. I can never thank you enough." He looked at her, with those big chocolate brown eyes. He leaned in... She leaned in...
The Sage smiled. "Job done." Summer whipped round, catching Freddy's eye with her hair.
"You freak!" she cried. "This whole thing was nothing to do with the water! You just made us spend some time together!"
"Was it really that bad?" asked Freddy. Summer turned back around.
"Was what really that bad?"
Freddy gulped. "Spending time with me," he said with a catch in his voice, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer. Summer softened.
"No," she said, "no it wasn't."
Freddy, Summer and Katie were hanging out at Zack's house. Freddy and Summer were now officially going out, and Katie and Zack couldn't believe it. One minute they were arguing, the next they were all over each other. After one of those moments, Zack decided to speak.
"This is weird."
"Yeah, next thing you know, you two will be parents," added Katie seriously. Freddy and Summer looked at each other, then leapt apart.
"EWWW!"
"NO WAY!"
Zack smiled. Some things never change.