There For You (Laurmani)

The Stumble

That shitty day was the springboard for a shitty week, and by Friday she was ready to escape. Lucky for her the gatekeeper herself was ready to fly away too.

"Yo, Kordei! Where you off to in such a rush?" Normani slowed down as Lauren walked up to her side, relieved that she was still talking to her after snapping at her earlier this week.

"It's Friday, I wanna be literally anywhere but here." The dancer answers with an eager smile.

"You...wanna hang?" Normani froze at the offer, they've never hanged out outside of school since the eighth grade, and the thought of it surprisingly didn't scare her.

"Um...sure. You got anything in mind?" Lauren is taken aback by her quick answer, she expected instant rejection as usual.

"I know something we could do...if you're up for it." The pale skinned smoker smiles deviously as an idea popped into her mind.

"I'm down for whatever right now, as long as it's fun."

"Oh, it'll be fun alright."

* * *

"Oh hell no, oh fuck no, you got me all the way bent if you think I'm finna do that." Normani backs away from the ledge, shaking her head as she watches a grown man fling himself off of it with an ecstatic scream as he flies down into the beautiful green landscape.

"C'mon Mani, don't tell me you've never wanted to base jump before." Lauren says excitedly, her eyes widening with glee as she watches the man pull the string to his colorful parachute as he descends to the ground.

"I didn't even know what base jumping was! Hell no to the no no no, I'm not doing that, that's some white people shit."

"What did you think we were doing when I told you to put on this flying suit and harness?" Lauren raises an eyebrow, chucking at how adorable Normani looks in the giant goggles and bulky equipment, she looked like a frightened penguin.

"I don't know, maybe to the indoor skydiving place down town?" The dancer whispers nervously.

"What? That place is for pussies. This is the real fun." Lauren gleams.

"You're fucking insane." Normani chides, her voice wavering as she looks down at the lake and grassy field where she can still hear the echo of the scream of the previous adventurer as he floats down with his parachute. They are standing on the edge of a bridge that is at least 1000 feet from the ground, over looking a beautiful view of a crystal blue lake and miles of grassy fields where the landing zone is, with people who already jumped standing at the bottom. Normani's stomach lurches as she looks again at how far they are from the ground, her head spinning as she can almost feel the drop in her soul.

"I-I can't. It's too high up, I can't..." the chocolate skinned teen trails off, and Lauren realizes how scared she really is, and she lifts the googles off her face so she can look the older girl in the eyes, taking a step closer.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm gonna be right there the whole time. Just take a step of freedom Mani, I promise you'll be safe." Lauren caresses her face, and she freezes as she looks into her caring smaragados orbs, and her heart starts racing for a different reason, the fear she once felt dissipating as a wave of security washes over her.