Dawn's POV

"Surely... I am dreaming right?" I thought to myself as I slowly inched closer to Paul. But the moment our lips  made contact I wasn't capable of convincing myself anymore that it was a dream. I felt vulnerable in his arms yet I had no fear. Paul, the guy I never thought would really kiss me...was actually doing the very impossible, or more like what I made up in my mind to be impossible. I found my mind drifting back to replay some foggy memories of our time together in the school.

Don't know how much time passed, I felt dizzy because of the soft warm sensation on my lips until thunder fell yet again and we jerked back from each other. Only then did I realise I was a little out of breath.

What had we done...?

May's POV

"Eeeekkk" I screamed as the loud intimidating sound of thunder came to my ears almost making me deaf for a second. I didn't realise I was clinging to someone until a minute after I had finally recovered. I scooted away a little from Drew who for once didn't have a teasing smile on his face but rather looked troubled.

"It's ok, it won't harm us May, calm down." He said soothingly which seemed to work.

We had taken the path going downhill until I had spotted a small meadow with several small mountain flowers. It was a sweet little meadow and we were happy just sitting there and enjoying the day when the wind picked up and before we could realise downpour started. I was ready to sprint in the direction of our camp when Drew stopped me saying, it was nothing more than suicide to try and run around in a place like this when it's raining. He was probably pright.

"Not gonna tease me about being a scaredy cat?" I asked while eyeing him suspiciously.

"Jeez, am I that evil?" Drew asked with a breathy chuckle.

We were currently in a small cavern we had luckily discovered on the farthest corner of the meadow and thankfully we hadn't gotten much wet either.

"I wonder if Dawn and Paul are fine." I mused aloud cause I really was worried about them despite Paul being with her. I hoped that they too had come across a safe place to take shelter.

Drew after seeing my worried face said, "Don't worry, sudden downpours normally don't last long in hilly regions like these."

I didn't comment as I unconsciously scooted closer to him for warmth as it really had gotten quite cold with all the winds. He didn't move away nor did he say a word except put a hand around my shoulder pulling me closer and if it hadn't been for the chilly wind I'd have felt my cheeks getting hot. The cold seemed to neutralise the temperature. Drew was right, the rain really did come to a stop after a while though the path now was much more slippery. I hoped no one was hurt badly due to this sudden downpour. The weather around that place really was unpredictable.

We slowly made our way out and I looked up to see tints of blue could be seen peeking from the silver clouds covering the sky. I smiled a little thankful that it was over. The leaves and flowers all looked like, fresh from a nice long bath. I was about to take a step forward when I felt someone grab my hand and I whipped around to find Drew giving me a don't-question-me look so I let out a small laugh and let him lead me carefully uphill to the direction where our camp would be. It was almost lunch time and I was getting really hungry too so I trotted beside him while obediently avoiding the rocks or fallen branches that he warned me about, on the way.

After walking for a while I saw two silhouettes approaching whom I realised to be Dawn and Paul and if it hadn't been for Drew's hand capturing my escape I'd have rushed to them. So rather we patiently waited for them to get closer. I laughed at how Dawn too tried to run up to us but Paul immediately caught her hand while shaking his head.

When she got closer I noticed a rather flushed face and two sparkling midnight blue eyes with a bewildered look on them as if trying to say a thousand different things together but can't decide with which to go first. I decided if I didn't get some alone time to talk to her she might burst due to that excitement.

I grabbed her hand and snatched her away from Paul and we started walking ahead with the guys following a few steps behind. Apparently they decided not to let the two of us wander away too much ahead so followed us close and I had to bury my urge to ask Dawn, what happened. She too looked like she was controlling her excitement and it made me want to know immediately. I suspected it had something to do with Paul.

When we got back though, the professors and several attendants rushed towards us and after asking several questions and making sure that we were fine, lushered us towards the dining hall where several students had already started lunch. I forgot about my questions as I selected my lunch and paid full attention to my plate. I finished before Dawn and the guys did and went out of the hall and onto the balcony to get some air. After about 10 mins, Dawn, Paul and Drew arrived and the first thing that came out of Paul was,

"We kissed."

Dawn's eyes widened and he looked at him with a face which could put a tomato to shame while me and Drew looked at each other with a shocked face.

I laughed when Dawn hurriedly tried to scold Paul that why he had to be so blunt and sudden about it and the way she moved her hands in a panicked way made me laugh.

"What, weren't you going to tell them anyway?" Paul asked.

"I'd have but- you know not like this out of the blue, it almost made me choke!" Dawb fumbled with her words.

Paul suddenly smirked and said, "That's part of the reason why I was so blunt."

I gave Paul a you-better-watch-out look before going and hugging Dawn who was covering her flushed face with her hands while Drew dragged Paul away to give us space.

As I slowly listen to how it happened I couldn't help but think it was something right out of a beautiful story.

After a moment's pause I asked her, "So are you two going to be official now?"

"I don't know May, I really do love him. As long as he knows that, I don't care about the stage of our relationship." Dawn explained.

I pulled her to a tight hug which she returned while I squealed internally, happy that my best friend was having such a good time of her life.

I trusted Paul, he was rude sometimes and blunt but that's why he was trustworthy. He was honest with himself, with his emotions however impolite they might seem and that's something many people can't afford to do without getting self conscious.

"Do you like Paul, May? As in do you trust him to be with me, because your advice really matters, you're my best friend. If you ended up never liking him I won't be happy..." Dawn asked hesitantly, being careful with her words.

I smiled at her and said softly,"I'd be happy if you're happy even if I didn't like him or so would normally people say but not me Dawn. In my case I'd have stopped you if I had a single doubt  regarding him loving you. But Dawn I completely trust him to take care of you. I realised that the first day I made cookies for him and we talked. He was an honest guy, just work a little on that ego of his." I ended with a chuckle to which Dawn joined and the atmosphere was back to being friendly.

Soon, Drew returned with Paul after I assumed what was a pep talk and we just spent the time roaming around idly when it was finally time for us to return to our original camp site.

While we were double checking our backpacks, I glanced at Dawn only to stare into shining blue eyes and a soft humming. Dawn really was in a cheerful mood. My mind drifted back to when Drew and I were stuck in that cave in the afternoon. He had unquestionably prioritised me at every step. I knew he'd do that for anyone ge deeply cared about but I wondered if I really did hold a special place in his heart.

Did I...?

I shook my head and decided it was worthless to ponder on something so trivial. We hurriedly finished packing and set out on our way back.

It was almost dinner time when we got back. Due to a little landslide caused by the rain we had to take a small detour and on our way crossed a shallow steam whose water was ice cold and though shallow the current was really strong. After we got back we went to get changed before having dinner. Dinner was uneventful and everyone crashed for the night pretty soon. For some reason I couldn't sleep. My body didn't feel tired. I decided against stepping out so late at night. Quietly I tiptoed out of our bedroom and onto the small kitchen. I switched on a torch and swiftly made some hot chocolate hoping it'd help me sleep. But for some reason that night I couldn't sleep till almost dawn, I was constantly reckless, twisting and turning in my bed.

As expected I was really sleepy the next morning. The girls apparently had thought I was more tired and had left me to sleep peacefully.

"They probably have gone to get things for breakfast." I thought.

After brushing and changing into a fresh pair of clothes, I put a bowl of water to boil, adding soup stock and some bite sized chunks of light fried veggies hoping the warm soup would wake me up.

After finishing the soup I decided to go for a quick jog outside. On my way I met the girls to whom I promised to return by breakfast. I went towards the forest which looked nothing like it did at night. I thankfully didn't come across anyone on my way here and frankly wasn't in the mood for a company. It looked so peaceful and quiet. I jogged through it for several minutes and surprisingly I came across a small lake. I wondered if anyone had discovered it before. I decided to sit by the lake for a while to soak a bit of sun when it happened. I suddenly felt the ground underneath my feet  vanish and I found myself falling. I didn't scream nor could I react, it happened so fast. The only two words I fuzzily thought while I was falling were, "save me."