"This isn't quite the pier I imagined, if I am completely honest," Joey admits.

At least somebody said it out loud. I was thinking the same thing, and I can bet Clarin and Lucas were as well. The thing is maybe twenty yards out into the water. The wood is old and doesn't look too stable. In fact, it's pretty mossy and seems slightly dangerous. I don't think I want to put all my weight on it.

"That's it," Ian says, and he looks proud to be standing in front of the thing.

"Hm," Clarin says. "It's very... antique."

"Delicate," Lucas adds to the pool of words.

"It looks like a friggin' death trap from a horror movie," Joey exclaims, throwing his arms in the air. "I would like to know which genius is gonna go first."

"It was Ian's idea, he can go first," I cross my arms over my chest.

"Gladly," Ian bows his head in my direction.

Then he starts out across the wooden pier, strutting like it's nobody's business. What a show off. I hope the boards crack beneath him and he falls through. He's using the thing as a runway for heaven's sake!

"Ian, you idiot, you're blinding my poor eyes with your hip swivels!" Joey yells, hands cupped around his mouth.

"You love it, don't lie!" Ian yells from the end of the pier. Of course he's made it safely across. Come on, karma. Give the kid what he should get.

"Who's next?" Joey asks, raising his hands up in mock innocence. "Because it ain't me."

"It's like we're sending each other off to their deaths," Clarin laughs. "Who should we kick out next?"

"Brinley!" Joey cries, eyes wide in excitement. "You're the next sacrifice!"

I blink. "What? No!"

"Go. Now. Or you have to buy us all dinner," Joey says, putting his hands on his hips.

"Who are you kidding?" I ask with a smile. "I have no money!"

"She isn't lying," Clarin vouches.

"Fine," Joey says, turning back to me. "Go, or I'll moon you."

"What?" My eyes widen.

"Go or I'll leave a pile of dog crap on your pillow tonight."

"What are you-"

"Go or I'll throw you in the water again," Joey smirks this time.

No. He wouldn't. But judging by the look on his face, he definitely would. I gulp down my last bit of defiance and start on my way towards the pier.

"Yes! See that, I got the most stubborn mule out there to follow my command!" I hear Joey exclaim from behind me.

"Did you just call my girlfriend a mule?" Owen asks.

"I think I did..." Joey says, and when I whip my head around angrily he just shrugs innocently.

"You jerk!" I yell at him, taking my first step on the pier. It creaks beneath my feet. Oh, gosh. I'm going to die.

"You can do it, B!" Ian calls, about ten yards away from me.

I don't know if I can. I concentrate on where I put my feet. There are some places on here that look like they're rotting away and have been for quite a while. I try to find the sturdiest places to walk.

"No, don't step there-"

I look up, bewildered, but then the board beneath my feet collapses, dragging me straight down into the water below. I let out a high screech, scraping my arm in the midst of my frantic flapping to save myself.

"Brinley! Are you okay?"

I hear footsteps on the pier coming towards me. I let out a groan, looking up at the gross bottom of the wood. It's got to be eaten away by some kind of bug, and that's absolutely disgusting.

Another loud crack sounds, and then a splash into the water. Someone else fell through the wood. I'm not the only one! I look over and find Ian smiling at me sadly, floating in the water.

There's the karma I was looking for! Although, I guess I got a taste too. Maybe that was for wishing this upon others. Whatever.

"You guys alright down there?" Clarin asks between laughs.

"We're fine," Ian calls up there.

Hands reach down through the broken boards. I take one at random, and they help me up out of the spooky darkness beneath this thing. I'm shivering hopelessly, arms crossed to attempt and warm myself up. Who's brilliant idea was this? Oh yeah, the drenched boy beside me.

<•>•<•>

"Where are you taking us now?" I demand, now wearing a towel over my shoulders.

"The fun part," Owen assures me.

"You said that last time," I point out.

"No," Owen says. "He said that. Not me."

"Hey! That was fun! I love that pier," Ian protests, grinning through his chattering teeth.

We've been walking up this huge mountain about ten minutes now. It's just behind the pier, in the forest area. It's amazing and beautiful, don't get me wrong. But I can't imagine where they're taking us to now. It's a little worrisome.

"Almost there!" Ian declares, turning another corner.

My legs are burning. This steep uphill is not exactly what I call easy or relaxing. It is severe pain to my calls and thighs. Hopefully this burns calories so I can gorge on food when I get back.

"Here we are!" Owen says, stopping us at what seems to be the edge of a cliff. I try to get close and look over, but I'm afraid it'll collapse and I'll fall.

"What are we doing on a cliff?" Lucas asks, trying to get a look over it as well as the rest of us.

"We're jumping," Ian says, as if it's blatantly obvious. "There's water at the bottom. It's totally safe, I swear."

"Is it shallow?" Clarin asks, eyebrows furrowed.

"No! At least a hundred feet deep, actually," Ian says.

"And how high up are we?" Lucas asks, trying again to get a glimpse at the water without getting too close. Man, I want a British accent. It's so attractive. Clarin's lucky. Maybe I should make Owen learn a British accent for me.

"Only thirty feet. There's another a ways further, almost fifty feet high, but we figure nobody's got the guts to jump off that," Ian continues, looking around at all of us with a grin.

"You thought correctly," I nod, looking down at the deep blue water skeptically.

"Okay, we've got to jump. I don't want to stand here and toast in the sun all day," Ian says.

"You're toasting?" I gawk at him. "The sun is hardly doing enough not to give me hypothermia. And you're soaked too!"

"I'm a man," Ian winks at me. Then he takes one step backwards and launches himself off the cliff. I take in a sharp breath, caught severely off guard. There's a loud splash seconds later, and we hear a cry of triumph. I look around at all the other astonished faces.

"Well," Joey says, "there's no point in not jumping." And he follows Ian's lead and throws himself off the ledge with a loud shout of regret mid-jump. Then his splash comes as well.

Next goes Owen. I stare in amazement as he drops down and straight into the water. Joey and Ian are bobbing in the water beneath, cheering. After Owen goes Lucas, then Clarin also jumps reluctantly. That leaves me completely alone on this cliff.

"C'mon, B! I have faith!" I hear Joey call to me.

I bite my lip, looking down at everyone watching me. Can I really do this? What if I cut it short and hit my head on a rock? What if I blow my eardrums out? What if I forget how to swim or something?

"You've got this, Brinley!" Clarin calls to me.

I frown as I look down at the water again. It's so taunting me. I sigh. It's either jump now, or take a ten minute hike back down to the pier. No thank you.

I close my eyes and press myself forward and off the cliff. There's a moment of suspense, where my body is just there in the air, and it feels amazing. And then I emerge into water in what feels like slow motion. As soon as I bring my head above water, I start laughing. That really was incredible. I loved it.

"See?" Owen asks, throwing an arm over my shoulder. "What did I tell you? Fun, right?"

I nod my head vigorously. "Very."

"But not as fun as this," Owen says, drawing my face towards his own and pressing his lips to mine. There are whoops and wolf-whistles, and I pull away smiling. I managed to forget we've got a peppy audience here.

"You guys are perfect," Clarin says dreamily, and Lucas nods his head in agreement.

"No," Owen smiles at me. "Not perfect. We aren't ever going to be perfect. But we're perfect for each other."