Westside || Jonah Marais

• EIGHT •

❝ G O S S I P ❞

"How are you so good at this?" Jack questions incredulously as Amity sinks yet another ball into the cup on the other side of the table. "I thought you were the innocent one of the group."

"I have to do something to take my mind off of the stress of finals," she replies nonchalantly. "Besides, don't complain when we're winning."

As Jonah guides his yacht through the waters and Bey and Corbyn remain on the top deck to keep him company, the remaining four - Amity, Jack, Daniel, and Zach - found themselves on the lower deck, playing intense rounds of beer pong, but with seawater instead of alcohol.

With Amity and Jack teaming up against Zach and Daniel, they had already won four games in a row.

"I will actually die if I have to drink any more seawater," Zach huffs, falling to the floor dramatically as Daniel nods in agreement. "We give up."

Amity laughs at the boy's antics, high-fiving Jack victoriously.

A new day had begun in Bora Bora, and the group of seven found themselves in each other's company as Jonah took them somewhere he and Corbyn promises hardly anyone knows about.

Hours had passed since they first stepped onto the boat that morning, but Amity didn't mind, enjoying her newfound friends' company far too much to worry about how long it took to reach the destination.

Amity sighs in content, removing her dress to reveal a pink bikini and dropping into one of the lounge chairs strategically placed in the sun as Jack claims the one next to her. A few feet away, Zach and Daniel continue to whine about how much seawater they drank.

"So," Jack begins nonchalantly. "You and Jonah?"

"Me and Jonah," she agrees, adjusting her sunglasses before glancing over at him. "What about us?"

"How did that happen?"

"I made the first move."

"You're joking," the man gapes, his eyes widening comically. "I did not see that one coming."

"That's because there are a lot of things you don't know about me, Jackie."

Before he can argue - or question the odd nickname - there's a loud splash as Bey dramatically falls from the top deck, followed immediately by Jonah's and Corbyn's panicked cries.

Amity wanders over to the stairs that lead into the water, watching in amusement as Jonah's lifeguard instincts kick in and he jumps in after her best friend.

"I swear she's basically a second Zach," Jack jokes, earning an indignant protest from the boy.

Jonah resurfaces as Corbyn joins them, worry etched across his features.

"I don't see her," he admits, propping his elbows up on the lower deck's entryway to catch his breath.

"What do you mean you don't see her?" Daniel questions, his voice borderline hysterical.

"I mean," Jonah retorts irritably, accepting Amity's help as he climbs back onto the boat. "I can't find Bey. She fell overboard and I have no idea where she went."

"I wouldn't worry about that. She'll come back," Amity says offhandedly, grinning as the five boys give her odd looks. "She always does."

"How in frigging Tartarus do you put up with her?" Jack asks incredulously. When all heads turn to him, he merely offers a shrug of his shoulders. "What? I like Percy Jackson."

Fortunately, they don't have to wait long for the missing girl's return. A panicked, most definitely female, shout is heard from the upper deck and Corbyn is quick to dash up the stairs to check it out.

"Found her!" He shouts back, earning a handful of relieved sighs.

The boat starts to change directions, now steering towards a steep cliff with a waterfall cascading down the side.

"I'm not saying I don't trust Corbyn's boating skills," Amity begins, wrapping her arms around Jonah's shirtless and wet waist as he plants a kiss on her temple. "But should we be heading directly into the path of a cliff that could destroy your boat upon impact?"

"Just trust us," he simply replies with a chuckle, earning loud groans from the others as panic sets in amongst them.

"We are going to die," Zach wails dramatically, attempting to fall into Daniel's arms as he pretends to faint - except Daniel steps out of the way, allowing him to hit the floor with a loud thud. "Jerk."

"This is it," Jack groans, equally as dramatic. "I'll never achieve my life's dream of watching every episode of Gossip Girl!"

"Oh no," Amity wails, joining their antics. Wiggling out of Jonah's grasp, she clutches her heart. "I'll never meet the love of my life, John Mulaney!"

"Why do I hang out with you people?" Daniel mutters, merely rolling his eyes as he struggling to hide his amusement.

The cliff gets so close that Amity can almost touch it. Squeezing her eyes shut, she braces for impact - only to be met with several gallons of water dumping onto her head as the sun disappears. Pushing her soaked hair out of her face, Amity gasps as she reopens her eyes.

"I told you to trust us," Jonah states as she stumbles backwards in shock, her back hitting his chest. "What do you think?"

Instead of crashing into the cliff, they had entered a hollowed out tunnel - which happens to be barely large enough for Jonah's yacht - with a brightly illuminated arch of an exit only a few hundred feet away. Amity moves to one side of the boat, brushing her hand against the cool rock wall as they approach the exit.

"It's gorgeous," she breathes out.

Past the arch is the most beautiful lagoon Amity had even laid eyes on; one so beautiful, she's certain it surpasses the one she and Bey once visited in Iceland.

Walled in by lush greenery, palm trees covered in vines drape over the rocky outline behind it. Vibrantly pink, orange, yellow, and purple blossoms adorn every inch of greenery available, looking like a place you only see in movies and on postcards. Colorful fish swim in and out of the holes in the rockwall behind them, it being the only thing that shelters this slice of paradise from human interaction. The beach is a small crest at the back of the lagoon, white and sparkling in the sunlight broken by the tree branches.

"I ought to kill you for scaring all of us like that," Amity jokes as she turns back to Jonah.

"May I suggest a kiss instead?"

"If you can catch me!"

Not waiting for a response, the woman jumps out of his grasp and heads to the edge of the boat, not thinking twice as she dives into the brilliantly blue water below.