PLAY!

NO!

I couldn't believe Gwen was here with me and Kim, on OUR DATE! I just, I was completely mystified at how this had happened.

I watched as my crush and little sister were splashing each other in the waves, and honestly, I thought I would explode in rage.

THIS was not how I had planned the day to go! It was meant to be me and Kim, watching the sunset and leaning into each other, gazing warmly into one another's twinkling eyes, the two of us falling in love.

But NOW.

Now GWEN was here... and she was just ruining everything...

"Dax!" Kim called to me, as Gwen swam around her, splashing her with the salty sea water, "Come join US!"

"Try catch me if you can!" Gwen cheered at me, and I grit my beak hard, giving a forced smile as I made myself jump into the blue ocean and join the two.

As I approached Kim, she splashed me playfully and I grinned at this. I slapped my wings around, water spraying on her and Gwen, and the two laughed before Gwen yelled at us.

"CATCH ME!"

She darted for the deeper waters and Kim and I glanced at each other before Kim said with a shrug.

"Maybe we should..."

I rolled my eyes at this – though I didn't mean to do it so obviously. I looked at Gwen laugh the further she went out and I nudged Kim lightly, pointing to her the palm tree we had met at yesterday.

"C'mon," I said softly, spreading my wings and taking off towards the tree. Kim watched me go, a fun spark in her eyes and she followed after me, her wings lifting her to the sky as well.

The two of us settled in the tree, watching the sky start to turn a deep pink in the distance and I felt my heart beating in excitement. Just being here with her... and not Gwen...

Wait a second!

"GWEN!" I yelped, realizing I had left my sister on her own.

I quickly took off flying back to the waves of the beach, and stiffened up in fear when I saw a grey shark fin slice out of the water in the distance.

I looked around desperately for my sister, and I saw her AT LAST in the faraway sea, my heart pounding in my chest as I took off again in flight, coming to her and quickly landing right beside her.

"Gwen!" I yelled, and she looked up at me, cheekiness in her big wide innocent eyes.

"What is it, big brother!"

"COME WITH ME NOW!"

She narrowed her eyes at me suspiciously, questioning my words, "Why..?"

"BECAUSE!" I screamed at her, even though I was right by her side, "SHARK-!"

"HUH?!" Gwen yelled back and my heart slammed in panic when I saw the fin suddenly slice its way to us and I grabbed my sister, yanking her up into the air, only moments before the shark had the chance to gobble her in one go!

We were high in the sky now, both of us looking down to the blue crystal clear ocean, and we could see the great white start to turn around, swimming away.

"Ha ha!" Gwen said in glee, turning around to face me, "That was close!"

"CLOSE?! CLOSE?!" I yelled at her and she pushed away from me, her little wings keeping her flying up here in the sky, "YOU almost GOT eaten!"

"But I didn't!" Gwen continued, still full of delight, "Because MY big brother saved me!"

I thought I was going to have a fit just then, I was pulling a bunch of angry faces before I finally glared right at her and screamed.

"I HATE YOU!"

Gwen stopped her laughter the second my words hit her ears. She looked at me, just shocked... before falling into sadness and despair.

"You..." She whimpered, looking at me like she didn't even know me, "You... hate.. me?"

"JUST," I snapped, turning to fly away but finished with the sentence, "GO HOME!"

I began to fly back the direction of my date and only heard Gwen utter weakly to herself.

"You... hate... m-me...?"

I landed beside Kim again, trying to calm myself down and my crush looked at me, seeing my deep angry face and she asked me as I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath out.

"Are you okay, Dax?"

My heart slowly returned back to its normal beats, and I heard Kim say again.

"Dax?"

"Yeah," I said, finally flickering open my eyes, "I'm fine... fine."

"Where's Gwen?"

"I told her to go home,"

"You did?"

I closed my eyes again, my sister being the subject of this conversation just annoying me deeply, "Yeah..."

"Will she be safe?"

"YES." I stressed, and sighed before looking back over to Kim, "She's fine."

Kim watched my tense eyes closely, seeing the anger slowly start to settle and she only smiled at me, cuddling close and instead of my heart beating fast in anger, it was instead beating fast in delight.

"Can you believe we're only here for another few weeks,"

"We are...?" I asked her weakly, not realizing this, "We ARE?"

Kim giggled, nodding her head and I looked at her sadly, as I finally knew this sad truth.

"That means..." I uttered in deep sorrow, and cuddled her close, "I won't see you ever again..."

"Well, we still have now," Kim said with a small wink and a cute gaze in her eyes, "And we'll always have next migration next year,"

"Yeah..." I said barely, realizing this more and more. I only had a few weeks left with the girl I liked and there was nothing I could do to change that... so I had to make the best of this time with her now.

"C'mon," I said to her then, lifting off the tree and into the red sky, the sun dipping under the horizon and creating night, "Let's go,"

"Where?" Kim asked me with an intrigued smile, flying up from the tree as well.

"Where we can have some fun..." I said in a big smile of my own and she screwed her eyebrow up in eagerness as she said the words.

"Catch me if you can!"

I smirked when I heard this, watching her loop through the sky and I flew after her, eager to catch her.

We went high, though, and then higher and higher.

There were no clouds here in Jamaica. No place for her or me to hide.

I finally swooped away from her, diving back into the jungle and she laughed, coming after me but I suddenly jumped out catching her and the two of us laughed as we got entangled in the trees and their big flat leaves.

Kim continued to giggle as we cleared ourselves of the green foliage and I only bopped her on the end of her beak, saying with joyful eyes.

"Got you!"

"Yeah..." Kim said slowly, her pupils dilating and she stepped closer to me, gazing into my eyes, "You did..."

I knew normally I would freak out being this close to a pretty girl duck... but Kim was different.

She was cool... she was relaxed... and she was stealing my heart.

"Yeah..." I said to her slowly in return and she cuddled close to me, nuzzling her head under mine.

The rest of the date felt like a blur, a happy blur as it felt like soon we wouldn't be dating anymore... but we'd be an actual couple...

A couple that might have to split before anything else really happened.

I was high as the moon in the sky when I came home that night. I was just love-struck... completely enamoured as I plopped in our nesting place and folded my wings.

Mum and Dad were already asleep, and I saw Gwen snuggled in the corner, her eyes closed but her breathing wasn't heavy...

I think she was pretending to sleep and I whispered to her quietly.

"Gwen! Hey, Gwen!"

She half opened one of her eyes, glancing at me before closing the eye again and started to make snoring sounds.

"I know you're awake."

"No, you don't." She whispered back to me and turned over in her spot.

"YOU just talked to me!"

"I'm sleep talking," She murmured with a humph, and I only laughed at this, approaching her but she shuffled weakly away.

"What's the matter with you?" I asked her confused and she finally snapped open her eyes, saying.

"Nothing."

"Yeah?"

"Besides that YOU HATE ME."

I nearly froze up startled when she said these words, and I gulped, watching my little sis turn away from me so very hurt.

"I..." I said slowly, not knowing how to say this, "I..."

She waited a full two seconds but I couldn't get my apology out. Tears began to well in her eyes then as she looked at me and uttered hurt.

"You D-DO hate me..."

She came over to Mum and Dad then, snuggling close to them as she rubbed her upset face against their feathers.

"Gwen..." I said to her softly, but she didn't look back at me. I sighed heavily, turning myself away now and only looking at the white pale moonlight that shone at the age of the nest.

I hated myself right then... hated my pride.

But one thing I knew then... I DID NOT hate my sister.

But she now thought I did...

So I took off from the nesting place and flew in the dark star-filled sky... by myself.

It was an hour later I finally returned to the nest and slept at the corner Gwen had, closing my eyes and finally allowing sleep to overtake.

When I woke the next morning it was because Pam, my mother, was shaking me to wake.

"Wha..."

"Dax," She said in a worried voice, and I groggily blinked open my heavy sleepy eyelids as I continued.

"Yeah..?"

"Gwen has been acting weird..."

"She's always weird-"

Mum slapped me weakly over the back of my head and I rubbed it slightly, saying in fake pain.

"Ow..."

"Gwen is NOT weird, Dax... she's just young,"

"Uh-huh..." I said in an angry growl.

"And doesn't know as much as you do,"

"Yeah...?"

"So do you know WHY she's been so..."

"Weird-?" I began to say again and Mum snapped at me.

"Not herself..."

I gulped. I knew the reason why Gwen wasn't acting herself. The reason being me. Me hurting her when I said without thinking over these words, "I HATE YOU."

"Dax...?" My mum asked again and I finally got to my webbed feet, looking at her coldly, before flying, replying.

"I DON'T KNOW."

The lies stung my tongue.

I did know... I knew all so well... but I wouldn't admit it you see.

The whole pride thing, and my mother only sighed exasperated, leaving me now and I soon stepped out into the sun myself, taking a deep breath in and out.

Oh, Gwen... I thought, annoyed at my sister, why do you put me in these situations?

I looked up at the clear morning sky and could see some of the flocks of birds fly high above in the blue abyss that was forever stretching into the universe.

I smiled weakly, spreading my wings and taking flight, as I flew with the other ducks and parrots and any kind of bird you could think of.

That's when I bumped into Delroy and he grinned at me, full of energy and a zest for life.

"Little, Dax! How ARE you?!"

"I'm... I'm good!" I lied, well half lied.

"Where is your little sister Gwen?!" He asked in a happy shout and I looked at him slowly, not wanting to answer, but couldn't keep my words in.

"I DON'T know! It's NOT my fault!"

Delroy blinked his eyes confused at me.

"What's the matter, little one?"

I only gave a heavy breath out, leaving him as I shouted in pain, "You WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND!"

I could feel Delroy watch me as I left and I just landed on the same palm tree from yesterday, closing my eyes in tears and sitting there so very upset.

I wanted to be alone – LIE.

I wanted to be in the right – AGAIN A LIE.

I slowly opened my wet eyes, only looking on into the deep ocean and the empty blue sky.

I... I realized then...

I only wanted to be a good big brother.

TRUTH! Finally!

So what could I do?

Apologize... soon.

And let my sister Gwen know... I don't hate her.

No... I hated myself.