❋ 𝘐'𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐'𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 ❋
Ander Muñoz wandered off too far one drunken night. And stumbled upon Reina Velásquez, a raven-haired mystery who goes to a rival school. From then on, competitivene...
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Ander couldn't remember much about the cliff jump.
All he recalled was how for one moment, he felt free as a bird, suspended against a blue sky canvas. And then the next thing he knew, he was surrounded by murky green lake water.
He was supposed to push to get to the surface. But which way was up?
It took a few seconds to notice the glinting sunlight piercing through Vicalvaro Lake's waters, but once the direction was clear, Ander went on full throttle.
Kicking his strong legs into motion, he broke through the water surface in almost no time.
The first intake of air felt both invigorating and painful. It was as if his lungs had forgotten how to process oxygen.
"COME ON, ANDER! MOVE! YOU CAN DO IT!"
Spurred by the sound of Christian's yelling voice, Ander sharpened his focus and began swimming furiously toward the shore.
As his arms continuously sliced the lake water, he could hear another male voice – presumably Eric's – that was cheering Matteo on.
"Go Matteo, go! Almost there!"
Was Matteo still ahead of him? It was difficult for Ander to see. All he had was Christian's figure as visual guidance for the end point to this challenge.
It felt like an eternity before Ander's fingertips brushed against solid land. He gasped in exhaustion as strong arms gripped his own arms and pulled him out of the water.
"Ander, you okay man?"
"God, he weighs a ton. Help me pull from this side, Polo."
"Oh no, he's bleeding. I'll go get some gauze pads and band-aids."
A flurry of different voices flew around Ander. A few moments later, he found himself lying on the ground with a fuzzy terry cloth towel wrapped around his shoulders.
"Ander?" Lu's face hovered over, her eyebrows knitted in deep concern. "How are you feeling, honey?"
Ander squinted his eyes. "Like roadkill. It feels like the drinking challenge at Club54 all over again, with all of you staring down at me this way."
Carla, who was standing next to Lu, had to stifle a giggle. "Come to think of it..." she mused.
"It's not funny," Lu remarked impatiently. "How many times does Ander need to put his life in danger for some stupid dare from big-time jerks that we don't even care about? And he didn't even win –"
"I didn't?" Ander tried to sit up but immediately regretted it, wincing as several body parts began to ache – particularly his ribs.
"Easy, buddy," Christian said, bending down and placing a hand gently on Ander's shoulder. "You probably bruised your ribs when you hit the water. You've got some cuts on your arms and one above your eyebrow too."
