Hilary's P.O.V

It was dark. The only things guiding me through the infinite darkness were Kai's hand and his alluring lilac scent. I could hear the voices of my friends from a distance. I was becoming conscious of his hand on mine and so I decide to start a conversation which I thought could be very difficult since the person in front of me and holding my hand is the great "Kai Hiwatari".

Me : Umm..Kai?

Kai : Hn.

Me : very typical….doesnt this guy know anything better than an insignificant monosyllable?

Kai : What is it Hilary?(very impatiently)

Me : Uh…well…how long do you think this tunnel is anyway?

Kai : How should I know?

Me : Dang! That is the worst conversation ever! Remind me never to end up with him again!

Kai : Why? Are you scared?

Me : What? Why…. W….would I…. be sscared of s….swimming? He he…(nervous laughter)

Kai : Uhhh…yeah…well actually I asked you whether you were scared of the darkness or not?

Me : Huh? Come again? Me and my big mouth…..

Kai : You know Hilary…I have been watching you closely from the moment we got here and I can clearly say that you are hiding something from all of us!

Me : You must be crazy if you think like that. Why would I be hiding anything from you guys ?

I don't know why he suddenly stopped in his tracks which made me bump into him accidentally. For a minute I thought he had me figured out. He suddenly spun on his heels and placed both his hands on my shoulders. Judging from the faint light approaching us I can say that we are already at the end of the tunnel. I can see his expression clearly now with the way his handsome face got illuminated by the light. He patiently sighed and looked at me with an expression I couldn't get. It was a mixture of anger and worry I think! His face inched closer to mine and down to my level. The sweet smell of his perfume was driving me crazy and his eyes…the way they were piercing through mine….i was scared that I would lose control over my emotions if this continued any further. Heat crept upto my face and no words escaped my mouth when I tried to speak. After a few seconds or so I finally find my voice.

Me : Whats wrong Kai? Why did you stop so suddenly?(not in my senses)

He surprised me again when he came even closer to my face and approached my ear. Unexpectedly I hear him snort and it developed into a full blown laughter. I stand there dumbstruck as I don't have a clue about what he found so funny. It was very surprising indeed to watch him laugh out loud. This was Kai Hiwatari I am talking about. The guy who doesn't smile fearing that his face will crack. To be quite honest I like Kai like this rather than the gloomy self loathing persona that he usually wears. After a good 2 minutes his laughter finally died down and he wiped the traces of tears that ran down from his eyes.

Kai : ha ha …..ha ha ha… the look you had…totally funny….

Me : What?

Kai : Hil..lets just enjoy the ride!

Me : You know Kai…you look a lot better when you laugh…do it more often.

With that both of us joined the rest and boarded the car. The ride commenced and the cars led us through a spectacular display of colourful aquatic life. And I was happy that I could share this beautiful moment with him. Somehow this particular moment made me remember all the moments that we shared in the past. The day I first met him, the day we were trapped in the island where that lunatic Gideon was after the bitbeasts, the day my schedule got ripped into two by that brainless baboon Tyson and Kai accepted it hands down. Everything flashed in front of my eyes. The ride through the tunnel got over and I felt the cars shift and separate from each other. Kai and I braced ourselves for the water was very turbulent. It rocked our car from side to side. Luckily we had handles at the sides that we could hold on to.

Normal P.O.V

Tyson and Hiro were seated together and the way Tyson was hooting that made Hiro cringe and hold on to his ears suggested that he was enjoying himself. Max and Ray seemed thrilled too. The only ones who didn't make progress in the enjoyment part were Hilary and Kai. Its not that they weren't enjoying the ride or anything. It was this awkward silence that prevailed between them. And boy Hilary was finally relieved when Kai decided to break it.

Kai : You ok?

Hilary : huh? Yeah…I am ok.

Kai : Hn.

Hilary : Are you enjoying this?

Kai : may..be(smiling)

Hilary : Me too…..I am glad that I was paired with you.

Kai : Oh….k….

Hilary : Kai I wanted to say something….to you…(nervously)

Kai : yeah?

Hilary : I wanna say that…..I ….ahhh!(screaming)

And that was that. Hilary's hands got slippery and her hands gave way from the handle. The car rocked violently and she plunged into the water. Before Kai could do anything she got pulled into the current.

Kai : Hilary….you ok?

Hilary : blll…Kaaaaiii…blll...cant blll swim…

Kai: Damn!

Kai didn't know what came over him. His sudden reflexes made jump into the water. He frequently surfaced to judge the distance between him and Hilary. She was beginning to lose her consciousness and beginning to drown. Her vision got cloudy and wasn't able to feel anything. Before she got completely knocked out Kai approached her and saved her. Her body felt heavy and extremely cold. With the last bit of consciousness that she had she was able to take a look at Kai's wet face before she got completely knocked out cold.

Kai 's P.O.V

She fell unconscious. Her temperature was dropping randomly and her body was shaking violently. I didn't know what I should do. For the first time in my life I feel a sudden rush of panic. What if she doesn't make it? No! There was absolutely no question for that. I start rubbing her arms and legs so that she might get warm and wake up. After a few seconds of rubbing I realise that she wasn't making any progress. I then deduce that she might have swallowed a heck of a lot of water. I pressed her stomach forcefully a couple of times. Finally she spewed out a few millilitres of water. But still no progress….after that I had just one option in the world that I could think of. I know that I don't have the guts to do it but she was my friend. A friend who needed help and I was the only one with her at this moment who could help her. Come on Kai ….just swallow your stupid pride and pucker up….Oh my god! I cant believe what I am thinking.

And so after a few seconds of battling my inner self I muster up the courage to do something I have never done before. Something which I shouldn't or wouldn't be thinking of ever in my life. I part her lips and approach them. When I seemed to be a few good inches away from her. Wham!

Normal P.O.V

Hilary completely surprised Kai when she opened her eyes and started coughing out the remaining water that she had swallowed. Poor Kai! In a sudden reflex she spat the water out at his face.

Kai : Whoa! That went well…this wasn't quite what I had in mind.

Her vision cleared and she was able to breathe freely now. After an ordeal of about 10 minutes Kai was able to get all the water out that she had swallowed. She coughed a couple of times but still wasn't able to speak properly. Kai was there sitting beside her and helped her up. His face suggested that he was every inch pissed off.

Hilary : I didn't ….just spit…. water at you just now did I?(nervously scratching her head)

Kai : Don't push your luck…..you are lucky I am pissed off at you for something else!

Kai : Whats the big idea lying about being able to swim? Are you out of your mind?(clearly pissed off)

Hilary : (cough) I am sorry Kai…I really am.

Kai : Would it kill you to tell the truth?

Hilary : I said I was sorry so cut me some slack.!

Kai : I knew that something was wrong..with the way you got nervous back in the tunnel. You were lucky you were my partner. What would have happened if Kenny was your partner if he was willing to come with us? The guy can drown like a block of wood even in a kiddy pool.!

For once Hilary was astonished that Kai was able to talk for even a minute straight. And the second thing that surprised her was the fact that he could show his emotions more clearly to her now.

Hilary : Just calm down Kai….i am sorry that I lied..i learnt my lesson..now can you please calm down…?

Kai : Whatever….lets get going…the others will be worried sick about us..

Hilary : K..

At the exit Max, Ray, Tyson, Hiro and Kenny were anxiously waiting for Hilary and Kai.

Hiro : What the hell happened? (worried)

Max : Ya….we were like so scared and worried about you two….

Kai : Explanations later. Someone go get her some towels and dry clothes.

Due to all this commotion they were way back on their schedule. It was 1:30 already . Hilary was given some dry clothes and a cup of hot chocolate. After a while she warmed up and was feeling better.

Phew….i really felt my adrenaline rushing…glad that I got through the 7th chapter….here it is guys ..read and review..thanks for the support….love ya'll