Gateway

Chapter One

She laughed and leaped off of the pier.

"Celeste!" He called. "It's kind of late for swimming, don't you think?"

Celeste grinned. "It's not too cold!"

He sighed. "That's not what I said."

"I know it's not. Get in! Don't be such a stickler."

Jarom rolled his eyes. Celeste rolled hers. 

"Fine, then." Celeste said, turning her nose up in the air as though she were thoroughly offended. "I'll just swim by myself." She turned around, her delicate hands pushing the water aside.

She heard a splash behind her, and laughed. 

"I expected you to get changed first!" she said, turning back to Jarom. "You're wearing jeans, aren't you?"

Jarom shrugged. "I can take it. I'm a man."

"Really?" Celeste asked. "So you think you can take anything?"

Jarom nodded.

Celeste smiled, and with a quick movement of her hands Jarom was doused with a wall of lake water.

He coughed and spluttered, shaking his head. "Hey!" He wiped his eyes and prepared to splash her again, but Celeste was already swimming away.

"The answer is no, then?" She called back.

She looked over her shoulder, expecting to see him still blubbering behind her, but he was gone. She stopped swimming and looked around. Too late she turned around to see him standing there. She was hit in the face by the water he splashed at her.

It was her turn to splutter. "That tastes like fish!" She choked out.

Jarom kept laughing.

"That's not fair!"

"It's completely fair," He said, "You splashed me, now I splashed you. We're even."

"Even my butt!" She lunged at him and knocked him into the water. He grabbed her and pulled her down with him.

Underwater, she opened her eyes, and looked up. The stars shone through the murky water. She saw Jarom swim up, but she held her breath and stayed down a little longer.

By the time she drifted up to the surface, she could see Jarom was frantic.

"I was afraid you'd drowned!" He said. "You shouldn't stay under that long."

Celeste laughed. "You," she said, poking him in the shoulder, "Shouldn't be such a worry wart."

"Oh, so I'm supposed to be cool with the fact that my best friend might be drowning?" Jarom asked. "Oh, Celeste hasn't come up for air in a while. I'm sure she's fine."

"But I am fine." Celeste said. "So you can relax." She raised her eyebrow. "Relax? You know, that thing where you don't get stressed so easily? Ever hear of it?"

Jarom sighed. "You're impossible."

Celeste grinned. "You're right, I am impossible." She splashed him. "Impossible to defeat!"

"Is that a challenge?"

In answer, Celeste splashed him again.

Their water fight went on for a while, until finally they quieted down and drifted over to the pier.

"Look at the stars." Celeste whispered.

Jarom looked up.

"No." Celeste said, laughing. "You're looking in the wrong direction." She pulled his head down so that he was looking at the watery reflections on the lake. "Isn't it beautiful?"