Vanilla

Nineteen

A/N: I'm back to alternate-week updates! Wheeee it gives me more time for longer chapters, but if you can't wait for two weeks I'll find some way to put up 2k words somewhere else per 4 days? Hm I haven't really thought about it yet but see what I'm up to on Instagram (hisangelchip) and hopefully I'm not being distRacTed by BL in japan or thrift  shopping my wallet away or eating adorable street food because Japan. 

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Refusing to experience another round of strange, unexplained heart palpitations, I made for the longer, less dangerous route that did not require god-like balance and footing on rocks that were jagged and wet—pretending that I'd noticed something else further downstream. Leroy had clicked his tongue as soon as I turned away from him, but a brief moment of my concern was enough to register the hint of a smile on his lips; clearly amused. He watched me make my way downstream, taking a long and careful time to avoid anything suspicious.

"You know we held hands for more than half-an-hour yesterday, right?" He called over the rushing waters and I felt my ears burn at once, turning to him with a glare. This, he challenged with a look of his own.

"I never said anything about holding hands, Leroy. I'm merely ensuring that neither of us slip and fall or, well, hit the side of our heads on a rock. The way up to the bank isn't as steep here as it is up th—"

I slipped; on what I initially registered as a part of the bed without firm footing but turned out to be quite the drop, barely noticeable from the surface and the force of the water, rushing down and past the dip, nearly knocking me off my feet.

And as every reasonably-minded person who's ever read up the basics of first aid or general safety precautions, I willed every bit of muscle in my body to fall forward, prioritising the back of my head. My hands, stretched out front, landed on a fortunately smooth surface and was enough to support my weight.

"Oh god."

Some distance behind, I could hear him calling my name but it was in that moment that I realized the rushing waters had turned into a blur of white. Textures and outlines disappeared; details vanished.

"Please no," was all I managed to say, piecing together the fact that I was soaked from head to toe and that did not necessarily bode well for my glasses, which could have flown off my face during the fall. That, or upon impact and—

"Vanilla," he was beside me before I knew it and still, I could barely make out the features of his face. "Oh fuck."

He must have observed at once that my glasses were missing because, well, even though his expression remained an empty blur from my point of view, the tone of voice accompanying his curse wasn't all that hard to decipher. Naturally, I shared his sentiments.

"Get Si Yin here. I'll start looking first—"

"Yeah, leave you alone in this current when you're as good as blind, groping around in the water," Leroy snorted, his face coming in and out of focus as he leaned further down to check if I'd sustained any injuries. "We'll look together. She's smart enough to know when we're taking too long."

I sighed; the sound of water rushing past our feet filling my head and god was I frustrated at myself. So much for having an encyclopaedia in my head when I couldn't even notice the change in water level and the stronger current right after it and here I was, being punished for a moment of oversight.

"What number?" The captain held up an obvious two in which could be determined by several factors that added up to that conclusion. I rolled my eyes.