Entering Territory [On hold]

4 ✧ N I G H T S W I M S

Paloma and I had slept in late this morning, until around eleven.

When I woke up, I decided I'd have a quick shower before Paloma woke up.
The hot water repelled off my back, like tiny massage bullets. It felt so good to have a shower, especially since it had been three days. I scrubbed my head clean with shampoo and conditioner and washed my body clean. At this point, I would've done anything to stay in here all day.
Pulling my shirt over my head, I walked out of the bathroom. Paloma was sitting on my bed, scrolling through her phone. I skipped over to her and sat down. "Sleep well?" I asked, falling back onto my pillow. "Yeah your bed is super comfy. You're so lucky you get a double bed all to yourself." She pouted, laying beside me. We can thank my mother for that.
Paloma and I had established nicknames for each other now, which I suppose I was okay with, mainly because I wasn't the whole nickname type of person.
"Ju, lets go!" Paloma called from the doorway as I quickly screwed shut the lid of my mascara. "Coming Lo!" I left the bathroom, grabbing my phone as I flew past. She smiled, leading us to the cafeteria. The halls were old and weren't very modern, unlike the bedrooms. I heard that they had all be renovated over the holidays, making them a lot different to the rest of the school.
I finished eating the last of my scrambled eggs on toast and waited for Paloma to finish too. "So how long have you been here for?" I asked, titling my head slightly. I laughed quietly as milk ran down her chin. She groaned, looking around for a napkin. I handed her my own and she wiped the napkin across her chin. "Well, I've been here since last year. I came in the middle of the second semester, but that gave me plenty of time to realise how sucky the people are." Mentally, I agreed with her, but physically? I just laughed it off. There's always good in a bad person, and maybe that's just the good we're looking for in those girls and that guy who had hit Ashton earlier this week...
Paloma was much faster of a runner than me, not including last night though. We were on our way back to my dorm, because Lo wanted to watch Netflix. I couldn't refuse, so we packed up our stuff and headed back to my room.
"And then, Joey dated Jessica and it wasn't meant to be in my opinion." I listened, nodding to what she said. She had been telling me about her brother's love life and more. She seemed really protective, and I respected that. We both kept count on the doors we walked past, just in case we missed our stop and kept walking.
"One hundred and ninety three, one hundred and ninety -" I hit my head against the ground and my whole body locked up. "Juniper!" Was all I heard at that moment. I couldn't bare the already throbbing pain of my head as I tried to open my eyes. "What? I couldn't help myself." "Don't be a bitch, Anna."
Someone pushed me on purpose. I wanted to get up and fire back at them, but I couldn't even open my eyes. I figured I'd just let Paloma deal with whatever happened and I'd drift off. The pounding disappeared and I suppose, so did I, as I lost conscious.

"Juniper? Are you okay?" With an ice pack pressed against the back of my head, I nodded slowly. Paloma leaned over and gave me a gentle hug. "That was a cocky move." I just shrugged, taking the ice pack and placing against her eye. She winced at the cold touch, but soon got used to it. "You don't want that to bruise." "I'm sure it already has." I chuckled, wrapping my arm around her shoulder.
Sebastian would know how to cheer us up. But he'd also know how to take a crack at Anna... Nothing physical though. I got up, letting Paloma rest for a few minutes. My reflection stared blanklessly back at me. I pulled my hair back into a low bun and washed my face. I looked pretty pale, which was a bit of worry, but it's nothing too serious I hope. I just sat there and thought for a moment. School hadn't even officially started and I already had some bitch on my tail. I groaned, slumping down against the wall. "I need fresh air." Was all I said to Paloma as I walked outside into the hall. I inhaled the outdoor air, my chest rising, then falling not too long after. "Hey pretty lady."
I whipped my head to the side, watching as Sam approached me. I laughed, folding my arms over my chest and turning my whole body to face him. "Sam." I stated, raising my brow at him. He flashed a grin at me and winked. As much as I wanted to melt into a puddle, I kept my stare solid. "The guys and I are going to the river behind the campus tonight and you should come." He told me with a smile that reached from cheek to cheek. "Only if I can bring Paloma." I told him confidently, smirking up at his chiseled face. "Sure, but no one else. Meet us at the front of the forest at seven." I nodded and he walked two doors down and went into his room.
"Paloma!"

✧

6:48 PM, Tuesday
I shut off my phone and walked over to my chest of drawers. In my top drawer we're at least five pairs of swimmers. I went through them and ended up with my floral bikini, which had come with a white jumpsuit when I had bought it. I put them both on and adjusted so they'd sit right on my body. I brushed and braided my bleach, blonde hair in less than five minutes.
"Ready to go?" I said, waiting for Paloma to speak back through the phone. "Ready." I ended the call and stepped out of my room, securely locking it behind me. I had managed to stuff my towel into a small bag, just to hide the fact that I was sneaking out.
I watched as Paloma danced around in excitement as I jogged over. "Be quiet, someone might hear or see us." She gasped, nodding quickly and we both sat down. "Now we wait for the guys."
It's been a few minutes now, and finally the boys decided to show. "Took you long enough." I exclaimed, laughing at their sorry expressions. "Sorry, little miss rich girl." I swallow back on my words at that and glared at them. "Guys this is Paloma." She waved and they waved back. "That's Ryan, Sam and Ashton." I looked behind them and around. "Yeah, Alex didn't want to come." I made a small 'o' shape with my mouth and nodded.
The boys quietly led us through the forest and out the back to the river. As dark as it was out, the boys had brought torches, but from what I could see, it looked really pretty and clear. Paloma and I slid off our jumpsuits, and quickly jumped in. Not too long after, the boys did their flips and dives and swam around in circles. If my mum had found out about this, I don't know what she'd do. This is too risky and rebellious for girls like me. Pfft.
"Hey Juniper." Ashton swam over to Paloma and I, grinning big. "Hey Ash. Why didn't Alex want to come?" I asked, rather quietly too. He only shrugged, sighing. "No idea." I sighed along with him, ducking under water for a second. "What happened to your eye, Paloma?" "I got hit." He looked towards me, a worried expression took over his face. "I wasn't conscious to help her." Sam and Ryan came up from the water underneath us, laughing. "You weren't conscious?" "Who wasn't conscious?" I giggled, pushing my hair back and out of my face. I looked towards Paloma and she looked at me. "Juniper passed out after Anna Potts shoved her over. Although, she did hit her head pretty hard." Ashton pushed himself closer and snaked his arms around my waist. I jerked back a bit at first, but then I wrapped my arms around him. "Well I'm glad your okay." "Alright lover birds." Paloma chuckled, swimming up to the bank. I looked at Ashton and smiled, as did he.
•*•*•

[ U N E D I T E D]
Word count: 1446 words