Breathe in the Rainbow

     Truth Or Dare    

Andrew gaped at the waterfall, it's icy water splashing him gently, inviting him. Evangeline smiled and dipped her feet in the water, wading out to the middle. She turned to him and smiled, turning her face to the cloudy sky. 
"What do you think?" She asked, twirling against the current, begging to push her along and take her beneath its surface. 
"It's beautiful." He replied, grinning. He waded in after her and down the stream where the current isn't so strong. Evangeline wrapped her arms around her shoulders and closed her eyes. 
"Michael and I used to come here and jump from the rocks up there down into the stream." She said, opening her eyes and pointing to the head of the waterfall. She moved her finger down slowly, whistling. It went from high pitch to low and as her finger touched the stream, making small ripples of her own, she made a quiet exploding sound and laughed. 
"Come on." She said eagerly. She pulled herself out of the current on the other bank and made her way to the rock face. Small waterfalls as thin as her indew finger trailed down the rocks, making moss grow. She began to climb, using old footholes and handholds. When she made it to the top, the skies seemed to agree with her, welcoming her back to the cliff's once more and boomed with thunder. She laughed, the sound disappearing under more thunder. The sky flashed twice with lightning, lighting up the clouds briefly and the first drops of rain began to fall. She stepped out onto the edge of the rocks, her toes curling over and gripping the edge. She looked down into the swirling water and her mind erased itself. She forgot how to jump and not crash against the rocks. She forgot how to move herself and fall weightlessly into the water, splashing into Michael's waiting arms. Her heart pounded in her chest and her stomach tied itself in knots. She stepped away from the edge quickly and crouched hugging her knees. 
     ~Flashback~
"Evangeline? What's wrong?" Michael asked. His voice echoed in her head and she crawled to the edge, a small smile playing at her lips as he held out his arms to her from the water. His shaggy brown hair clung to his forehead and he shook his head, spraying water everywhere. 
"I'm afraid of heights. I'll hit my head on a rock." She complained. Michael laughed gently.
"Come on Evangeline. The water's great, and I promise, if you jump far enough out, you won't hit you head." He said, holding his arms wider. She nodded and uncurled her arms from around her legs and stood up straight, walking gingerly to the edge again and curling her toes over the rock. She paused for a moment and smiled. 
"1, 2...3!" She shouted and pushed herslef away from the rock face, aiming herself for Michael's arms. She soared for a moment and then hit the water. It surrounded her and cleared her head of every thought. She held her breath and kicked as two hands caught her arms and pulled her up. 
"Told you." Michael grinned and she splashed at him, laughing. She dived away from him and paddled frantically for the water's edge. 
     ~Reality~
"What are you...Stop! Just wait!" Andrew shouted from below, climbing out of the water hurriedly. He climbed the rockface easily and ran to Evangeline's side, pulling her away from the edge where she lingered, one for out stretched. 
"1, 2...3!" She murmured, closing her eyes briefly. When she opened them again, they glistened with tears. 
"He's gone!" She cried, turning her face into Andrew's chest. She cried, breathing raggedly. What she had been about to do suddenly hit her full force and she shook with fear. 
"He promised he would catch me!" She cried. Andrew sat down gently and held her tightly in silence until her tears stopped and she became silent. 
"Hey, look at me. It's ok now. Got it?" He asked. He took her chin gently and turned her head towards his. She nodded and bit her lip softly. Rain began to pour and mixed with her tears. Andrew turned his face to the sky and looked back down at her. 
"Come on. You'll catch a cold out here." He said. He helped her to her feet and led her to the edge. 
"It's faster to jump down." She said, biting her lip. Andrew raised an eyebrow at her remark, but ignored it and helped her to climb down. He took her hand and waded through the stream, holding her hand tighter when she slipped and was nearly taken beaneath the water. He bolted through the net of vines and ran for the treehouse as thunder rolled above and the clouds lit up again. He frowned at her shaking knees when they stopped and lifted her into the small lift. She just fit perfectly when she hugged her knees close. He raised her until she was level with the treehouse and coiled the rope around a branch, securing it there. He climbed up the ladder and pulled a blanket over the door, leaving a small peep hole in case someone came along. He handed her a blanket and she smiled apologetically. 
"Can I get changed into other clothes?" She asked quietly, blushing. He stuttered for a moment and nodded, turning around and walking to the window. He ducked beneath the make-shift curtain and watched the rain fall. Evangeline slipped into some blue boxers and a white sleep-shirt. She tapped his shoulder.
"Ok, your turn." She said, taking his place by the window. He pulled on old black boxers, grey from wear and left his shirt off. This was normal for him and her tapped her shoulder. She pulled the curtain away again and blushed at the sight of his bare chest again, mentally slapping herself for being so naive. She smiled shyly and pushed the curtain aside, sliding a wooden board into its place. In the center was a glass port hole and she pulled the damp curtain over it again. 
"Thanks." She murmured, darting to her bag. She pulled out some matches and lit the lanter and the candles, pulling out another large candle and placing it on a low shelf, wider than the others and waist high. She grabbed some hot chocolate out of her bag and brought it over to the shelf, taking to slightly chipped cups off the shelves as she passed. She knelt by the doorway and washed them out in the rain. Once she was done, she brought them back over to the low shelf and poured in the hot chocolate powder. 
"Hey, can you pass me the bottle of water from my bag, please?" She asked Andrew, who was watching her from the bean bag. He blinked as if woken from a dream and nodded silently, grabbing the water bottle and tossing it to her. She smiled in thanks and poured it into the cups. 
"Cold hot chocolate?" He questioned, raising one eye brow. She laughed and brought the cups over to the bean bag along with the candle. 
"Be patient." She growled playfully and knelt next to Andrew. She placed the candle on the floor and held the first cup over it. Five minutes passed and she had already switched arms three times. She handed the cup to Andrew and started with her own. When it was finally done, she put the candle back up on the shelf and sat down in the bean bag with Andrew. They drank the beverage in silence and she yawned, though it was still midday. It was quite dark outside from the storm and she skipped over to her bag, pulling out her book. 
"You're gonna read?" He asked, sounding disappointed. 
"What'd you have in mind?" She asked curiously, sitting next to the bean bag and setting her book down. She leaned against the bean bag, her arms folded over eachother. 
"Hmmm... I don't know. Just don't make me sit in silence." He said, grinning. She sighed and raised an eyebrow. 
"So what then?" She asked. 
"Truth or dare?" He asked, shrugging carelessly. She grinned and laughed softly. 
"Ok. You first." She said, running to her bag quickly and grabbing a thicker blanket. She put it under herself as a pillow and wrapped the other one around her. When it stormed, that temperature dropped and it became quite cold. 
"Truth or dare?" He questioned. She paused to think about it.
"Truth." 
"Hmm... What did you and Michael fight about?" A soft sigh escaped her and she looked down at her hands. 
"Now that I think about it, I think it was over him leaving, and me getting a boyfriend. I think Michael was angry that I stayed with my boyfriend, Kyle, because he thought the guy was hitting me and abusing me. And to counter argue, I brought up the subjec of him moving, and we just fought and fought until we decided, we weren't going to talk to eachother for a while." She said. He was silent for a while. 
"Was this Kyle hitting you?" He asked. 
"One question at a time." She replied and grimaced. 
"Truth or dare?" She continued. 
"Um, I think dare." He said, challenge playing across his face. She stayed silent, thoughtful. 
"I dare you to....... eat 20 jelly babies." She said, grinning and fetching the jelly babies. She tossed them to him and he counted out twenty and stuffed them into his mouth, grinning as he chewed. She rolled her eyes when he swallowed them, coughing a little. 
"Ok, your turn. Truth or dare?"
"Dare." She said, her eyes telling him to 'bring it on'.
"Ok." He smirked. "I dare you to tell me if it was Kyle hitting you, and if it wasn't, tell me who." He said quickly. Her heart dropped and did somer saults in her chest. She drew in a shaky breath and let it out slowly.
"It wasn't Kyle...It was my dad." Andrew was silent, staring in disbelief. 
"Is that why you ran away?" He pushed. She hardened her gaze.
"Look at you, always asking things over the limit." She smiled and shook her head. 
"Truth or dare?" She finished. 
"Truth." He smirked. 
"Why did you run away?" She asked, keeping her expression blank.
"My mum's an alchoholic, my dad's depressed and my I just found out my girlfriend had been cheating on me since day one." He said, his expression blank like hers. She frowned.
"Oh..."
"Truth or dare?" He asked, clearing his throat.
"Dare. And no, I dare you to tell me this, kind of dare." She said, smiling to ease the discomfort.
"Ok. I dare you to..." He tilted his head, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully as he stared at the ceiling out of the corner of his eye. When he finally looked at her, he looked mischevious. "I dare you to kiss me, unless of course, you're to chicken for it." He said, grinning. She hit him on the shoulder, but forced her eyes down to her hands. She took a deep breath and looked up again, her heart fluttering like a baby sparrow. She took another deep breath and let it out slowly, uneasy about kissing him. It was just a dare, what harm could it do? She countered herslelf, arguing in her head. It could ruin this friendship. Oh god, it's just a little dare. You never should have agreed to this, you should just go home now. Hell no! She nodded curtly and leaned in, her hand instinctively going up to his cheek just before their lips met. Tremors raced up her back. The feel of his soft lips on hers was a beautiful sensation and she wanted to press herself closer. His hand held her neck gently and as if reading her mind, pulled her closer. Both of their lips parted and the once, just-a-little-dare-kiss, grew into something more.