Chapter 2 - Swimming
I sat at the kitchen table, deep in thought. Genie sat across from me, in the less comfortable chair.
We were sort of having a staring contest I guess, only it wasn't a contest. We were just staring into each others eyes, my thoughts racing.
As I sat there, staring into Genie's almost purple eyes, I wondered about my last two wishes. What was I gonna wish for?
I didn't really need anything. I didn't want to be psychotically rich. I didn't need to be famous, I had Lola for that. I really didn't need anything. Physically.
Mentally, I ached to have Miley. To not have to keep my stupid crush a secret any more. If I had a nickel for every time I'd almost blurted the truth out, then I would be psychotically rich.
I sighed, my eyes wandering off towards the window. It was nice outside. A pretty stream of sunlight was pouring into the kitchen, making the tile floor sparkle.
"You've got a beautiful family." Genie spoke in a calm voice, his arms folded across is chest, a warm, friendly smile on his face.
I looked up at him, my face must of shown my confusion.
"I can see them, in your mind." He explained, his purple-ish eyes shining brightly against the sunlight. It was an odd sight, but my life revolved around weird stuff. How else, out of all the people in Malibu, is it that I found a giant genie in a lamp?
"It used to be beautiful, before the divorce." I replied, my eyes focusing out the window again. The sudden realization of what I had just said tore at my heart. As if a tiny little monster were inside my chest, ripping away at my still beating heart. The sudden emotion made me tear up, but I wiped it all away with the back of my sleeves.
"Don't blame yourself for what happened. It wasn't your fault." Genie comforted, the volume of his voice was low and gentle.
I glanced at him, his purple-ish eyes were still fixated on me. I noticed how he had so many wrinkles, but no gray hair.
"What would you wish for?" I asked, leaning even more forward against my elbows which were propped up on the table.
His eyes got bigger, his smile faded and his brows pulled together.
"No one's ever asked me that before." The surprise still evident in his tone.
"Well, it's just like you said, I ask a lot of questions." I simply replied. Had no one really asked him that? I guess everyone knew what they wanted but me. Or at least, they thought they knew what they wanted.
"Hmmm." Genie murmured. "Right now, I need to focus on you. What do you want? I can't stay with you forever. There has to be something you've always wanted, or needed. How about a puppy? You know you want a puppy." Genie gave a hopeful smile, raising his eyebrows.
I smiled back, I had wanted a puppy. I guess that want was still somewhere in mind, pushed aside by my crush for Miley. No, it wasn't a crush. Not any more. I thought it once was. I thought it was just a phase. Something that would pass. Something I could stop.
It's not a crush. More like a…a burning passion. An un-ignorable presence that I needed at all times. Without her, I feel…incomplete. Empty.
"Desire." Genie muttered.
Yes! That was it! It was a desire. That was the perfect word for my situation.
"Thanks Genie." I smiled, he smiled back at me. Amused at my thoughts.
"Anytime." He quietly replied.
I looked into his eyes. They were no longer purple, but a solid topaz. Okay, now the Edward Cullen resemblance was starting to creep me out. Next thing I know, he'll show in a shiny Volvo and say he has a bunch of adopted brothers and sisters.
"Why are your eyes a different color?" I asked, I think I asked inside my mind, but it doesn't matter. He heard me just the same.
"They change occasionally, as do our hair color, body size, height, voice, it all changes. Sort of a way to liven things up a bit, I suppose. Because looking the same for eternity can become quite the drag I hear." Genie informed me.
"When do they change? Is it like on a schedule or something?" I couldn't decide on what was making me ask all these questions. Either curiosity, or the hope that we wouldn't return to the subject of my two wishes.
"It depends on what the master likes best, or what they want us to look like. It's not decided by just the random thought though, it happens based on what's deep inside our master's mind." He explained.
"Oh, well. Okay." And with that, we returned to our stare off. Staring into each others eyes in the silence. Minutes passed before a small sound could be heard.
I realized that I was staring at the window again, my eyes must of drifted off.
"Puppies…puppies….puppies."
It was Genie, he had the same hopeful look on his face, he must have been trying to persuade me while I was half-conscious.
Before I could laugh, the phone rang. I jumped up, my heart racing because it had scared me, and ran to where it hung on the side of the wall.
"Hello?" I asked, why did people say hello anyways? Who was the idiot that started that?
"Lilly?" I recognized the voice right away. It was the voice of an angel.
"Hey Miley!" I exclaimed, my heart beating even faster now. I glanced over at Genie, he had a big smirk on his face, I turned my back to him.
"We're back in Malibu, I tried calling your cell phone like a bazillion times." She replied, I could hear how tired she was. Poor Miley, working herself so hard. I instantly wanted to give her a hug.
I could hear a muffled laugh. I turned to see Genie looking out the window, an even bigger smirk on his face then before.
"We should so go down to the beach today, and we can drag Oliver with us." I suggested, my heart racing at the thought of seeing Miley in her bikini. I immediately hoped she would wear the black one with green polka dots.
I could hear Genie's booming laugh now. It filled not only my ears, but the entire kitchen. I turned to glare at him.
"Yeah, sounds like fun…" She stopped right as Genie had started laughing, "…is someone there with you?"
"Oh, um…yeah…but it's just my, uh…my…cousin…Freddy." I mentally slapped myself on the forehead.
"Oh, okay. And yeah, we should drag Oliver's butt down there with us, but ever since he started dating Sarah, the too have been like, inseparable." She noted.
"That's okay, I'd love to see Saint Sarah in a bathing suit anyways." Oh my god, did I really just say that? And of course, I could hear Genie trying to muffle his laughter.
"Um, yeah." Miley sounded hesitant for a moment, "meet you down there in a bit."
"Um, Miley, is it okay if my, um, cousin comes with us?" I was sort of scarred to ask, but it was Miley we're talking about. She got along with just about everybody.
"Sure, I'd love to meet the little guy. Oh, hey, I gotta go. Don't worry about Oliver and Sarah, I'll call them. Bye, Lilly." And with that she hung up the phone.
"Bye." I muttered to the phone, thinking about how she had said "little". Oh yeah, she'll get a kick out of just how tiny he is.
I placed it back on the wall, then turned to Genie.
"What was all the laughing for?" I asked, my tone showing just how ticked off I was. To add to the effect, I placed my hands on my hips.
Genie burst out laughing, filling the kitchen with his booming laugh again.
"Ugh! Come on, we're going swimming and can you please find some more civilized clothes?" I asked, giving up on the mad routine. I heard a pop and blue smoke filled the chair he had been sitting in.
I coughed some and with another pop the smoke was gone. And so was Genie.
I could hear someone behind me, I turned and there he was, dressed in normal Malibu-worthy clothes.
"Better." I commented as I walked past him.
We walked all the way to the beach side by side. It might have looked weird to everyone else, seeing a 15 year-old girl walking along the sidewalk with a gigantic sized man who somewhat could pass as a hobo.
"I heard that." He murmured.
I smiled, I didn't care what everyone else thought. Never have, never will, but I've always been like that. It's just like the song goes, I am what I am.
No, that wasn't true. I cared what Miley thought. Only, what Miley thought. I craved her opinion, I yearned to live up to her standards. Pathetic, I know.
Genie gave me a small nudge, I looked up to see Miley sitting by Oliver and Sarah at the blue, wooden tables that sat by Rico's.
"And then the guy jumped off the cliff!" Oliver exclaimed, apparently he was finishing one of his corny jokes, because him and Sarah erupted into a fit of laughter while Miley simply rolled her beautiful blue eyes.
"Hey Lilly…" She greeted as she saw me walk up to them, but she stopped to process Genie. He was a bit of a sight. "Is this Cousin Freddy?" She asked, trying to keep her voice high and not give away her shock.
"Oh, yeah. This is, um…Freddy." I gestured to Genie and he gave a small bow.
By now, Oliver and Sarah had joined Miley in staring at Genie. All three looked shocked and like they desperately want to laugh.
"If you don't mind, Lilly, I think I'll just stay over here and eat while you guys swim." He smiled, I could see the relief on everyone's faces.
I watched Genie walk over to Rico's, he glanced back at me and with his index finger he tapped his temple. He must have been reminding me that he could hear my thoughts.
"Wow, Lilly. That guy's a beast!" Oliver whispered once he thought Genie was out of ear shot.
"Yeah, well, he's supervising me for a little while." I truthfully told them.
"Well I think he's quite the gentlemen." Sarah smiled, she must of thought I was hurt by Oliver's comment.
"Oh, yeah. He's a charmer alright." I smiled.
"Well let's not just sit here, get your butts up and let's go swimming!" Miley exclaimed. I laughed at her sentence as we all raced off towards the water.
On our way down, I noticed that Miley, to my pleasure, was wearing the black bikini with green polka dots. I smiled to myself.
When we reached the water's edge, we all dove straight in. We paddled out to about waist deep and from there proceeded to have the ultimate splashing fight.
Pretty soon my stomach muscles were hurting from all the laughing we were doing.
"I love summer!" Oliver yelled up at the clouds once we had calmed down our splashing fight. I hadn't realized it at first, but we had drifted farther away from the beach in our water war.
I was now forced on my toes, the warm sand tickling at them.
The water was beautiful today. It sparkled against the sun, clear almost through to the bottom. It wasn't cold, but cool. The perfect temperature.
"This has to be the best summer ever! And it's just getting started!" Miley yelled.
We agreed and before long our splashing fight was back on. It didn't take to much time before we were pretty far away from all the other hundreds of swimmers out today. And to have our privacy was pretty nice.
We were still laughing and having a good time when I noticed how late it was getting. It was nearing sunset far too fast. I sighed as I examined the pink and orange clouds that surrounded the setting sun. A beautiful sight indeed.
I glanced over to Oliver and Sarah, who were wrapped in each others arms.
"This is so peaceful, Ollie." Sarah sighed.
"Lilly." I turned instinctively to Miley. She had a big smile on her face and was giggling. She really did look like an angel.
"Stop it, Lilly." She giggled again a few moments later.
"Stop what?" I smiled, was she trying to catch me off guard for another splash attack? If so, I was ready. I smiled even bigger in anticipation.
She giggled again, though it didn't reach her eyes this time.
"Ouch, that one kinda hurt, stop kicking me." She said, a smile still on her face.
"I'm not touching you." I simply replied, looking over at Oliver and Sarah who still had there arms around each other. They looked like such a cute little couple. I really was happy for them. They really deserved each other, no matter how different they were from each other.
I didn't hear Miley giggling any more, it was probably just a passing jellyfish anyways. I sighed as the sun continued to vanish. The last bits of sun barely still reaching over to us.
I felt a kick to my left leg, I looked over to see Miley smiling at the sun. I smiled even bigger. Was this some kind of payback? She noticed me staring and looked over at me.
"What are you smiling at?" She giggled.
"Oh don't play dumb with me." I smiled over at her.
"No, seriously what?" She smiled, wading over a little closer to me. The sudden shortened distance between us left me slightly speechless. My pulse involuntarily sped up.
"Oh nothing, just how you kicked me." I replied while looking around like it was so obvious I shouldn't of mentioned it.
Her smiled faded. Her eyes grew wider. She looked…scared?
"Lilly." Her voice was shaky.
"Yeah?" I asked, my own voice going an octave higher.
"I didn't kick you." She stated. And I knew she wasn't lying. Her eyes showed the truth.
Instinctively me and Miley grabbed each others arms and pulled ourselves close together. Both of us were shaking at the possibilities.
"I don't wanna die, Lilly! I've seen these movies! This is always how it happens!" Miley had cracked, the tears where rolling off her cheeks now.
"Miley! Calm down! It's probably just driftwood, or a log, or a small itty bitty harmless fish named Nemo!" I tried to keep my voice from shaking but all I could think about was a giant pair of jaws with three rows of razor sharp teeth chomping down on my legs.
The worst part, I not only had to worry about my legs, but Miley's too. She pretty much abandoned me in the sanity world. And now that I remember it, she had always said that Jaws had given her nightmares for two weeks straight.
Great.
I looked around, desperate, but Oliver and Sarah were too far away. They had drifted way out of ear shot by now. Perfect, stranded far away from the beach with possibly a big hungry shark out to get me and Miley. I could practically hear the Jaws music now.
"Okay, calm down Miley! Splashing is only going to attract sharks!" I exclaimed. She immediately stopped moving, her weight shifted onto me and I was now supporting her and myself. She was still shaking.
"Miley, look at me." I tried to keep my voice smooth and calm.
She slowly turned to stare into my eyes. Hers where filmed with fear and worry. It pained me to see her like this.
"Nothing is going to happen to you. I won't let some dumb shark hurt you. Nothing is going to get you while I'm around." I promised, immediately regretting it. What if something did happen? She'd never trust me again.
And even though she nodded her beautiful head, I felt like I was loosing her already. Something had to be done. I couldn't stand not seeing her happy any longer.
I thought about yelling for Genie, but what could he do? I didn't even know if he could swim. As I tried to find a solution, my body just about froze and everything went dark.
GENIE!! I screamed inside my head.
But it was too late.
I could hear both myself and Miley screaming. I could see, in the distance, Oliver and Sarah swimming off to shore in a panic and yelling for help. I could see the red water.
It came before the pain did. It filled my eyes, it was all I could see, then, as my lungs half filled with water, all senses came back to me.
I could see the dorsal fin. I could feel the pain. Ouch! My leg! It felt like someone was putting a chainsaw to it.
Without thinking I pushed Miley, who was screaming her lungs off, away from my body, but she didn't go anywhere. Her arms let go of me, but she didn't move.
I could still see the red water, but my peripheral vision was getting darker. My sense of direction was gone. I didn't even know if I was under the water or above it.
Before my sight entirely cut off, I saw Miley swimming away from me. Her back to the beach but she was still getting away from me. She was screaming for help. Screaming my name.
Then, it all went dark. I couldn't feel the pain, for that I was thankful, but I couldn't see or hear Miley any more. I was scared. But not for myself, for Miley. What happened after this monster was done with me? Would it go after her? I wanted to yell at her to get away. But when I tried, my lungs filled with water. How long had I been away from the surface?
It didn't matter now. All I could think about was Miley. Now, I'd never get to tell her how I fell about her. She'd never know. She'd never know how badly I loved her. How her every move fascinates me. Her eyes, her personality, her everything. I loved everything about her. I love her. I love Miley Stewart. I love my best friend. I love Miley.
And that was the last thing I thought about. And the last thing I saw was a mental picture of her. And it was strange, knowing that I was going to die, and all I could think about was her. Hmmm, if I ever made it out of this, I'd be sure to slap myself.
...darkness...
AN: I swear, no one dies in this story! You see, I got this idea after watching Alladin and Jaws one right after the other. I know it's crazy, but it sounded pretty darn cool in my head. And I bet you I'm the only person on here with a genie shark story :D ha! call me normal!