"Brinley! It's good to see you out here," Drake shouts as soon as I step foot onto the sand.

I just smile in return, trying hard to ignore the sick feeling in my stomach.

"The water isn't that bad," Jake says. "It's actually very nice."

I am highly conscious of he fact that his hand is on my back as he leads me out towards the water. I feel even more conscious as I pull off my sun dress to reveal my swimsuit and Jake's full attention is on me. I look away, embarrassed and slightly creeped out.

"Get in here, guys! Party isn't happenin' on the shore," Parker calls, waving us over.

I reluctantly walk over to the water, trying to figure out which guy is which. The darkness makes it very difficult. I bite my lip, trying to ignore the gnawing feeling in my stomach that something's wrong. Seeing Ian in the waves doesn't help. Part of me wants to walk back inside right now.

That thought doesn't get far, because I am dragged into the water by Jake. I let out a squeal as the freezing cold water touches my skin. The next thing I know, I trip over a rock and fall straight down into the water. I come back up, looking around in a daze.

Jake is laughing at me, and so is Parker. I scowl at them both, crossing my arms. "Jerk."

"Hey, if I hadn't pushed you in, you never would've gotten in," Jake grins at me.

"Yeah, and maybe I didn't want to get in the water," I frown.

"You can't come to the ocean and not get in the water!" Parker exclaims.

"Yes I can," I protest. "I can enjoy the crashing of the waves and the smell of the ocean."

"That's the most cheesy thing I've heard you say," Jake laughs again. "Come on, we're going out to the big waves."

"What? No," my eyes widen in terror. Something about the sound of that makes my stomach churn.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Jake drags me further than I'm comfortable going. I nervously look around, finding Ian and Drake wrestling in the water, and Parker and Ben are cheering them on.

I bite my lip, looking over at Jake who's ushering me forward. Making a hasty decision that it'll be okay to hang around him for a while, I trudge forward in the water.

By the time my chest is beneath the water, Jake finally stops. "Dive through the big ones."

"Wait, what-"

I didn't see it coming in the dark, but there's a huge wave in front of me. My eyes widen and I don't know what to do. It's coming at me, it's going to crush me. Jake grabs me quickly and pulls me beneath the wave with him. I squeeze my eyes shut, praying that I won't be carried away.

Jake tugs on my arm and I stand up, taking long breaths. I stare at him. He's laughing.

"Your face was priceless," Jake smiles at me.

"I was terrified, okay? You didn't explain what I'm supposed to-"

"Dive!" Jake yells, throwing himself forward as another wave erupts. I copy his actions, flinging myself forward into the midst of the water.

When I come back up unharmed, I gape at him. "It didn't take me away!"

"Exactly," he laughs at my surprised expression.

"It wasn't that bad actually," I smile as well. "Sort of fun."

"I told you," he winks at me, eyes twinkling in the darkness.

This time when a wave comes at us, I know what to do. I jump out into it and come up laughing with joy. I could keep doing this forever. It's a wonder that I was afraid at all.

Then the thought of Owen comes into my mind and I feel incredibly guilty. If he knew I came down here... Oh, I can just picture the worried and disappointed look that would cross his face. It makes me, not for the first time tonight, feel sick.

"You alright there?" Jake asks, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Um..." I look at him for a long time. "I don't know if I should be out here right now."

My excuse for coming here was to scope out my situation, not to get friendly with all the possibly murderous guys. I really have to get out of here. And fast. Now, preferably.

"Oh, come on," Jake smiles warmly. "I'm not that bad of company am I?"

"No, it's not you," I frown. "I told Owen that I was going to bed and now I'm out here and he doesn't know-"

"Owen doesn't know?" Jake raises his eyebrows. I momentarily panic. I shouldn't have said anything, I should've stayed quiet. I could've said I felt sick or something- "You and Owen like each other a lot then?"

I nod, distracted by my own terrified thoughts.

"Brinley, look out!" Jake cries, but I'm a moment too late.

The wave crashes into me straight on, knocking me off my feet. I feel myself flip over and over, my head crashing against the ground. My back and neck crack uncomfortably, and I can't find any directions at all. I frantically try to stand, but a second wave hits, throwing me forward again. I swallow a ton of salty water, then hit my head on something hard, and everything goes black.

<•>•<•>

"Have you?" Owen asks awkwardly, his cheeks turning red.

"Kissed anyone?" I ask. "One. Remember? Gabe James, last year? Sad, I know, don't laugh. Freshman in highschool, and I still have only locked lips with one person."

I sigh and stare out at the lake. I was very glad Owen gave me the offer to come on a lake picnic today, because it is getting me out of a chemistry test. Not only that, of course, I love spending time with him. He's my best friend.

"I'd be a hypocrite to laugh," Owen smiles at me. "I haven't."

My eyes widen. "You haven't kissed anyone?"

He shakes his head, grinning widely in embarrassment.

"You dated Cristina Samuels for, like, four months!" I exclaim. "And you never kissed her?"

"Mm..." He looks away. "No, she was something short of a saint, too good for that stuff."

"And you dated her for that long?" I gawk at him. "What did you do, read books and make puzzles together?"

"No!" Owen laughs at me. "That's ridiculous. We still did fun stuff together-"

"I don't buy it," I raise my eyebrows.

"Right," he shakes his head, still not looking at me.

And something, probably crazy hormones and whatnot, urges me to do something spontaneous.

"You want to try?" I ask, biting my lip nervously.

"Try what? Making puzzles?" He asks, finally bringing his bright green eyes back to mine.

"No," I reply with a smile. "Kissing someone."

"I... Uh-" He seems completely stunned by my offer. He blinks a few times, staring at me. "Not a bad idea."

I laugh, shaking my head. "It isn't, huh?"

"Oh, shut up," he rolls his eyes. "You caught me off guard that's all."

"It's easy, really. Instinct will help," I shrug.

"Oh-hoh! You've kissed one person and you're the expert," Owen teases me.

"You want to or not?" I ask him pointedly.

He stops and looks at me for a long time. "I... I guess so. I mean, why not, right?"

I smile. "Right."

He stays where he is, looking around with a sigh.

"Well, get over here," I roll my eyes.

"What?" Owen asks. "No, you get over here."

"No." I cross my arms.

"Fine, you win," he grumbles, "as always."

He scoots himself closer to me, so close in fact that our shoulders touch. I smile at him. He smiles back. I see his focus flicker down to my lips and back up to my eyes. That's it, Owen. Closer and closer until our lips barely brush. And then his hand is on my cheek and my eyes are closed and his lips are so soft, and I don't know why I haven't ever kissed him before.

When Owen leans away, looking stunned, I smile.

"Brinley?" He asks, looking over at my for a moment.

"Yes?" I raise my eyebrows.

"I think..." He clears his throat. "I think I need to try again."

I nod. "If you so insist..."

And with that, I wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips firmly to his once again.

<•>•<•>

"Brinley?"

I open my eyes slowly, but it's very difficult, let me tell you. I see six people... No, eight... No, there are only two. I don't know. I squeeze my eyes shut again, bringing a head up to my aching head.

"She's awake," a voice says in relief.

"Brinley, can you hear me?"

I grunt in response.

I try once again to open my eyes, seeing clearer now. Parker, Drake, Ian, Ben, and Jake all stare down at me. I'm on the shore. The ocean is still crashing behind me. What happened to me comes back to me in a blur, and I sit up.

"Did you drag me out?" I insist. "How did you find me?"

"I grabbed you," Drake says. "Luckily the wave brought you right beside me."

"Thanks," I mutter, finding this situation incredibly awkward. I hate being the victim, and that's all I've been recently.

"Are you... Are you okay?" Jake asks, looking concerned.

"Oh, I'm fine. I'll just have a nasty lump on my head for a while, but I'm okay. Really," I assure them with a small smile. "I'll probably just go up to the house now, though."

"Right, absolutely," Parker nods. "Want me to come?"

"No, no, I can manage. Thanks guys," I reply, mostly fearing being alone with them.

I shudder, realizing that being unconscious gave the murderer a wonderful few minutes where I couldn't defend myself. Just lovely. Lucky me, not being dead right now.

I start up the path to the house, but decide halfway there not to go straight. I move over to the pathway Owen showed me yesterday, with the stone bench. Once I reach that point, I sit down, looking around at the trees. I can see why Owen always loved to spend time here. It's beautiful.

I close my eyes, laying down across the bench, peaceful with the sound of crashing waves beside me.

A branch cracks a little ways away from me and I sit up in an instant, eyes wide and alert. Someone's followed me. Breathing deeply, heart pounding furiously, I try backing away as quietly as I can.

"Brinley?"

The figure moves closer, but I can't tell who it is.

"Brinley, come here."

It's Jake. I can tell as he gets closer. I stay put where I am, frowning.

"No," I warn him. It makes me sad, really, to think that it's him who wants to hurt me. I was starting to enjoy spending time with him. "Stay where you are, or I'll start screaming."

"There's no need for that," Jake shakes his head. "I just want to talk."

I stare at him. No way. Not happening. Not while we're alone at a suspicious time.

"Look, Brinley, I need to do something," Jake sighs. "You might not like it. But I have to or I'll never forgive myself."

And then he starts at me and I'm standing still in shock. He's going to kill me! He's coming to murder me! I don't believe it. Jake is the one Jonathan sent. His hands clasp over my arms and I try to squirm out of them, but I can't.

Instead of what I was expecting, a knife or something, his lips collide with mine. My eyes widen in shock. I try to shake him off of me, but he won't move away. Instead, he allows his hands to move from my arms to my waist, pulling me much too close to him.

I try to move away again, but that only makes his hold on me tighter. This is so wrong. So wrong, I can't even think.

When he tries to increase the intensity of the kiss, I clamp my teeth down on his lip as hard as I can. Just like I did with Jonathan when he tried to kiss me. He releases me, letting out a howl of pain.

"What the-" He uses a long list of colorful vocabulary. "Brinley, what's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with you?" I ask in exasperation. "You can't do that! I have a boyfriend, Jake! Owen, remember?"

"I know, but he doesn't have to know-" Jake says, looking annoyed.

"Oh, he does. And he will, I assure you. Better run and hide," I suggest, stalking away angrily. I wipe the back of my hand against my lips repeatedly, trying to get the taste of his off.

"Wait!" Jake calls after me, but I don't stop walking. "Brinley!"

At least one good thing came out of this horrible event. One threat down. Jake never wanted to murder me. He only wanted to make a move. So who is it that Jonathan's sending after me? Who's the lucky guy?