Forever August ✔️

chapter one

AURORA SAT ON the edge of the cliff that overlooked the ocean, her feet dangling in the air as she eyed the crystal-blue water rushing beneath her. She knew she should be afraid of the plunge, but all Aurora felt was a burning desire to feel the familiar rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins.

The breeze from the ocean whipped her hair around her head, making it flow behind her like a tangled, brunette cape as she breathed in deeply, allowing the salty air to fill her lungs.

Aurora never expected to spend her Saturday morning staring down the edge of a cliff like the barrel of a gun. But, then again, she never expected to be dying at the age of eighteen.

Slowly, Aurora sat up and took a careful step forward until her toes were aligned with the ledge. One small movement and she would be free falling through the sky, a girl drifting in the breeze, until the cold water swallowed her whole.

The flutters she felt in her stomach weren't the crazed wing-flaps of nervous butterflies, but rather a deep, internal pull that tugged her closer to the water, closer to the thrill waiting beneath her. Aurora could already hear her helpless scream that would carry through the sky as she fell, taken away with the wind.

Her hands slapped against her thighs as she took a deep breath, readying herself for the fall. Her toes inched ever so slightly forward—

"What are you doing?" Aurora paused, the unfamiliar voice behind her interrupting her momentum. Although her eyes widened slightly with curiosity, she refused to turn around.

"Living," she replied easily, breathing in the air that tasted like freedom as she spread her arms wide at her sides and, as the stranger called out behind her, took a step forward and sailed towards the open ocean with a grin plastered to her face.

Aurora's screams carried into the blue horizon, mixing with the bubbles of laughter that escaped once the fear of free failing had surpassed and the familiar rush had set in. Not a second later, she crashed into the cold water, knocking the air out of her lungs. The water chilled her bones as she kicked her feet as fast as she could, swimming to the surface, her lungs burning for air.

When her face bobbed above, she gasped for breath. Then, she grinned. Widely. Aurora's head fell back in laughter as she brushed away the wet hair sticking to her face.

"I did it!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, hoisting her arms triumphantly into the air. Her voice seemed to carry on forever, floating along the waves and disappearing into an endless sea of blue.

When her bones began to ache and her fingers were shrivelled up like dried fruit, she casually swam back to shore, feeling lighter than ever before. She wadded through the waist deep water, ignoring her clothes clinging to her body like a second skin, and instead ran her fingers through her wet hair that smelt of sea salt and grime.

It was only when she reached shore, when the water lapped around her ankles like a shallow puddle after rainfall, that she noticed a figure standing at the edge of the sand. Aurora watched with weary eyes as the boy walked towards her, clapping.

"The dismount was a little messy, but I give you points for landing with grace," he called. Aurora recognized the voice as the stranger from before.

She raised a single eyebrow. "If I knew I was being judged, I would have tried harder," she replied.

When the boy was standing in front of her, she could see the awe on his face. "You're alive," he breathed.

"That's ironic," she said, laughing at a joke only she understood.

She eyed the boy standing in front of her, his wild black curls blowing in the summer breeze. But her attention was held by his slender eyes that stood out against his dark skin. Resting under thick black brows, one of them was blue, the other a light brown.

"I thought you were about to plummet to your death," the boy said as he took a step closer to Aurora, his cautious eyes trained on her face. "Glad to see I was wrong."

Aurora shrugged as she rung out the water from her hair. "I think that would be a pretty awesome way to die."

The boy stared at her for a moment before his face split into a grin. "I can think of better," he challenged.

Aurora sat on the sand, stretching back on her hands perched behind her. The sun warmed her skin as her lips curved up into a small smile, all tales of caution escaping her.

"Enlighten me," she said, his smile growing at her invitation.

"Like," he began, sitting in the sand in front of her with crossed legs, "jumping out of a plane. Drowning in a sea of chocolate —"

"I'm lactose intolerant."

"Drowning in a sea of almond milk," he corrected with a smirk.

Aurora grabbed a fistful of sand and flung it at the boy. "Hilarious," she said without a trace of humour.

The wind blew his curls around his face, his smile never faltering. Aurora noticed the delicate freckles that kissed his nose and decorated the planes of his high cheek bones.

"So you jumping wasn't some crazy death mission?" he asked while dusting the sand off his grey t-shirt.

"It was not."

"Adrenaline rush?"

"Nope," she singsonged.

"A dare?"

She laughed. "No."

"So you're just crazy," the boy concluded, nudging her foot with his.

"Amongst other things, yes," Aurora teased.

"I should have known, the beautiful ones usually are," he said easily, his eyes holding hers captive.

Aurora eyed him with keen curiosity as an unusual silence feel between them. She waited for the boy to speak, but he simply continued to sit in front of her, the smallest of smiles on his face. A moment passed before Aurora came to her senses and rolled her eyes, managing an absurd chuckle.

"You shouldn't flirt with me," she warned.

"Why's that?" he asked, leaning forward with his chin propped on his knuckles.

"Because flirting with a girl who's dying will only lead you to a broken heart."