Chapter XI

Finally, a new chapter!

   After collecting the girls from Gray’s home, we had made our way back to where all the boys were waiting. A few minutes of discussion later we set off towards the location of the boat. Gray warned us that it might be a little difficult to get on the boat since the entrance was in the front, and we couldn’t risk going up there. So, we’d have to figure out a way to get on without potentially hurting ourselves, and without being too loud. Who knew what would happen if the driver caught us?

 

    I walked alongside Cecily and Anastasia with my hands stuffed in the pockets of my jacket, and my eyes glued to my sneakers. The other girls still seemed a little groggy, but definitely more awake than Matthias and Maddox. I was pretty alert myself, but I wasn’t sure if I should be happy about that or not. A foggy mind might have kept me calmer.

 

    Ander and Gray led the group, walking in front of us. They didn’t seem to be upset anymore, and talked in low voices every once in a while. I had a feeling that they were used to bickering. I just hoped they could get along long enough to get things done.

 

    The other two boys lagged behind us. From what I could tell, they didn’t say a word. I could be wrong, though. I wasn’t paying very much attention.

 

    Soon enough, I could hear the faint sound of slowly moving water. I could smell it, too. It was a distinct smell, but I couldn’t describe it to you if my life depended on it.

 

    “Right there,” Gray began and I snapped my head up, “That is the boat we’ve got to get ourselves on. Thankfully, it’s not too high. So, I’m thinking that two of you boys could lift me up and I can climb over the railing and onto the boat. Then, you can all help hoist each other up, and I’ll help everyone over.”

 

    There were a few grunts of agreement before we walked the few more feet that led to the boat. It was small and bobbed up and down just the slightest on the water. I couldn’t really tell what color it was since it was so dark outside, but I could make out just the slightest bit of blue.

 

    Most of the group huddled around the back of the boat, but I stayed behind the group away from everyone else. It seemed like I’d been doing a lot of collecting my thoughts the past couple days. I had so many things to think about, but they all kept running together and it was all just a bit too confusing.

 

    For one, I needed to figure out how I was going to present the idea of helping us to Magnanimity. I was obviously going to be the person to talk to them. We’d already covered that it would be best since I was the Princess. Gray would go in with me to help me out when needed since that was the main reason we brought him with us. So that he could be the adult who made it all seem a little less far fetched.

 

“Hey.”

 

   I looked up to see Ander standing beside me with his arms folded over his chest. I made a feeble effort to smile at him, but it ended up looking more like a grimace.

 

He raised his eyebrows and sighed. “Nervous?”

 

    I shrugged my shoulder. “A little bit, I guess,” I replied. I glanced back up at him, and I was going to ask him if he was nervous too, but something made me stop.

 

    I always thought that Ander’s eyes were amazing, but something about the way they glowed against our dark background seemed extremely familiar. And not just because of the times I’d been with him at night, but I had this feeling that I’d seen them before a long time ago.

 

   Suddenly, an image flashed through my mind. It was of those same green eyes, but everything else in the picture was pitch black. They were all I could see, but they weren’t Ander’s eyes. That was for sure. They were more almond shaped compared to Ander’s doe-shaped ones.

 

   The picture went away almost as soon as it came. It was so strange, and a little jarring. My lips parted in an ‘o’ shape. It wasn’t until Ander spoke up that I realized I had been staring straight at him the whole time.

 

He furrowed his brow. “Nyx, are you okay?” He asked, reaching out to put his hand on my upper arm.

 

   I paused, running my tongue over my bottom lip. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just the…nerves, that’s all.” I waved a dismissive hand to make like it was nothing, but in my head it was definitely something.

 

   “Ander,” Gray’s voice barked and both of our heads swiveled to the side to look. Gray stood inbetween Matthias and Maddox right beside the boat. Matthias’s face was bright red, and the girls were giggling over to the side. I instantly regretted the fact that I had missed something.

 

    “Would you come help Maddox lift me up? This scrawny Whitehead wouldn’t even be able to lift your hobbit girlfriend if he tried,” Gray grumbled, gesturing to my red faced friend who was beginning to look a little more red with anger than embarrassment.

 

   Yes, I was pretty short, but never in my life had I been called a hobbit. And I was not Ander’s girlfriend, and what the heck was a Whitehead?

 

    Ander’s face flushed and he obediently went to help Maddox lift Gray, mumbling something under his breath about how I wasn’t his girlfriend on the way there.

 

I cracked a smile, but made sure no one saw as I went over to stand with the girls and Matthias.

 

  “I could have lifted him. I just didn’t have time to warm up,” Matthias huffed, directing his words straight at Cecily. I guess his efforts to impress didn’t go very well.

 

   So, Matthias did like Cecily. I made a mental note to use Cecily to get back at him for teasing me about Ander.

 

   I watched with my hands clasped together as Maddox and Ander kneeled down on one knee each and used their hands as footholds for Gray. The older man placed a hand on each of the boys’ shoulders and slowly stepped one foot onto both sets of hands. He wobbled a little at first, and I wasn’t sure if the boys were going to be able to lift his weight, but eventually they eased onto their feet. Gray pushed himself up more and stretched his thin but muscular arm to reach the railing of the boat.

 

   The boys’ faces showed that they were having a difficult time, and for a minute there I thought they might drop him. He gripped hold of the bar, though, his knuckles turning white. With a few more grunts from all of them they managed to heave Gray over the railing, and I winced at the thud he made when he landed on the deck.

 

   I wasn’t wincing because I thought he might have hurt himself. I knew he was fine because he‘d already stood and given everyone a thumbs up, but I was afraid that we might be too loud.

 

    “Come on, Matthias. We’ll go ahead and get you up there so you can help Gray pull the girls up,” Maddox said, still in his ‘lifting’ position.

 

   Matthias trudged over with his arms crossed over his chest. “I thought I was too weak to do anything,” he said, a bitterness in his voice. He always got irritated when someone made fun of him. In my opinion, he should have been used to it by now. The boys in the Inside always picked on him.

 

    Maddox came up from his position and clapped Matthias on the back. “It’s easier to pull people up than lift. Why do you think Gray went up first?” My eyes had begun to adjust the dark so I was able to see the wink Maddox gave the boy.

 

    “And,” Maddox continued with his voice a few notches lower, “Gray’s getting up there in age. You know what they say, men get grumpy when they‘re old.”

 

  I laughed quietly to myself, only imagining what Gray would say if he heard all of that. I could also just barely detect the smile that crept across Ander’s face as he watched from where he was still kneeling beside them on the ground.

 

    It was obvious that both of the boys loved the older man, but it was also easy to understand why he might test their nerves sometimes. He wasn’t the most patient or easy to get along with.

 

    I couldn’t see Matthias’s face since his back was turned to us, but I could see that he had become less tense and more relaxed.

 

   “Help me up then,” I heard Matthias mumble, and although he may not have seemed too happy to an outsider’s ears, I knew that it was a big deal for him to give in. Usually he would have just sulked around.

 

“Yes, sir.” Maddox kneeled back down into position.

 

    I glanced over at Cecily who stood beside me, and found her wearing a thin smile as she watched Matthias clamber up onto the other boys’ hands. I was beginning to detect some feelings on both sides at this point. It couldn’t have been more than a crush at the time, but there was definitely something there. I kept my mouth shut, though. I was in no position to go nosing into anyone’s love lives.

 

“Hey, Cecily, quick question,” I spoke up, nudging her arm with my hand.

 

   The fiery-haired girl turned her attention from the boys to me. Still wearing her smile, she replied, “Sure. What is it?”

 

    I narrowed my eyes and tilted my head to the side, thinking back to what Gray had called Matthias. “What’s a Whitehead?”

 

    Cecily laughed lightly and shook her head as she chewed at her bottom lip. “It’s a slang term that we call the Insiders. Uh, it’s usually used in an offensive way. As demonstrated by Gray, of course,” she stopped to laugh again and shrug her shoulders, “I don’t know if it’s just something the Inbetweeners say or if the Outsiders use it, too. But…yeah.”

 

  I nodded slowly. Whitehead was probably in reference to the blonde hair, I assumed. “I might just use that one for my dad,” I said, not really thinking.

 

Cecily raised her eyebrows questioningly. “What’s wrong with your dad?”

 

    Anastasia’s head snapped up then, casting me a helpless look. Ander’s warning about keeping my identity secret flashed through my mind as I racked my brain for an answer. With a shrug and a nervous chuckle I said, “Nothing really, but you know how parents can be sometimes.”

 

   She gave me a knowing smile and I saw Anastasia sigh in relief. I’d have to be more careful with what I said from now on.

 

    The rest of the wait was pretty quiet as one by one Matthias, Anastasia, and Cecily were lifted onto the boat. I picked up on how Matthias’s hands lingered on Cecily’s just a bit longer than needed when he pulled her over. I only smirked to myself and shook my head.

 

    Then, it was my turn. I slowly walked over to the boys and bit my lip nervously as I glanced at their hands that were acting as pedestals. They both smiled, and I cautiously placed one decrepit sneaker on Maddox’s hand. I gripped Ander’s hoodie, scrunching the material in my fist as I used him to steady myself so I could push my other foot off the ground and onto Ander’s hands.

 

  “Woah,” I muttered as my foot landed on Ander’s hand, but I wobbled so I quickly shot my other arm out and gripped onto Maddox’s shoulder, too. I tottered less but I wasn’t completely still.

 

   I felt myself being lifted as the boys slowly came into a standing position. “You better not be looking at my butt,” I joked but in a serious tone.

 

    I heard one of them laugh and then Maddox said, “Don’t worry, I have no interest in looking at your butt. I’m not sure I can say the same for our friend, though.”

 

“Shove it, Maddox,” Ander hissed as I felt their hands wrapping around my ankles.

 

  I cracked a smile, and I was glad they couldn’t see. Looking up, Matthias was hanging over the railing with his arms outstretched. I kept one hand firm on the side of the boat as I reached-

 

    “Aaah!” I shrieked as I felt my body sling to the left and my side collided with the boat. A sharp pain shot up my side, and another small shriek escaped me.

 

“It’s okay! We’ve got you! Are you alright?” Ander called and I felt their grip on my ankles tighten.

 

   I swallowed hard, trying not to look down. I wasn’t too far off the ground, but I’d never been a big fan of heights. I could handle rooftops that were hundreds of feet high, but the feeling of having nothing underneath you but two teenage boys -who were obviously starting to get tired- terrified me. Strange, I know.

 

“I’m okay, but I know I can’t be that heavy!”

 

  “Our arms are just getting tired. Gray, I don’t think we can lift her any higher. She’s shorter than everyone else, and I don’t think she can reach you,” Maddox called up to Gray.

 

“What do we do?” Matthias asked, turning to look at the older man for direction.

 

   Gray tapped his worn out fingers on the railing before snapping them. “I’ve got it. I’ll hold Matthias by the legs and lower him until he can reach her.”

 

   The next thing I knew Matthias was hanging over the railing and in front of me. He gave me a reassuring smile, but I didn’t even try to smile back. All I could think about was getting on that boat.

 

“Wrap your arms around my neck okay, Nyx?”

 

  I gulped and slowly moved my hands off of the boat’s surface and wrapped them securely around his neck, one at a time. I squeezed my eyes shut as he wrapped his around my back, and my ankles were released. I kept my eyes shut until I felt my feet were back on solid ground.

 

“Thanks for not letting me die,” I joked before letting go of Matthias.

 

He chuckled as he pulled away. “Your welcome.”

 

   I turned back around to look over the railing when I heard Ander speak again from below. “I don’t think we can lift each other.”

 

Gray let out a frustrated sigh, massaging his forehead. “Do any of you see any rope or something?”

 

    There were a few moments of silence while everyone tried to find rope in the dark. Not as easy as you might think.

 

   “I think I found some,” Anastasia squealed, popping out from around the corner with a long strip of rope. “I don’t know if it’ll be enough, though,” she sighed, offering it to Gray.

 

    He examined the length with a nod of approval. “It should be enough.” He leaned over the railing to speak to the boys. “We found some rope. We’ll lower it down and pull you up,” he turned to address Matthias, “You help me out, and stay in the front. I’ll pull from behind you.”

 

    I stood by the railing with the girls as both of them were reeled up. Maddox was first, and his landing on the deck was pretty smooth. He high-fived us when he got there.

 

    Unfortunatley, I can’t say the same for Ander. Coming over the rail went alright, but Gray and Matthias let go of the rope too soon, and Ander landed hard on the deck. And he definitely didn’t land on his feet, if you know what I mean.

 

    I swear the driver of that boat must have either been a really heavy sleeper or deaf, because we were making a lot of noise.

 

    I distinctively remember trying to stifle a laugh as Ander pushed himself off the ground. He winced once he got on his feet. Thankfully, though, he was a good sport about it all. “I think I’ve permanently damaged my coccyx.”

Author's Note

Oh, Ander, coccyx is such a funny word.

Anyways, tell me what you think. I know it's been a long time since I posted, and I know this is kind of suckish, but tell me what you think anyways.

Reviews

[Sophie]

Suckish? Suckish should never be a word used to describe this! Pleease please please please please add more

[Krista Weiss]

Awww!!! < 33333 Love this chapter :) Can't wait for you to post the next one!! :)

[Anonymous Girl]

Oh man next chapter!! QUICK!!!
This was amazing but dying to read next one!!!

[AleyshaRosa]

Not suckish, like it quite a bit actually. Keep the chapters coming =]

Only one critique, your paragraphs are much too short. Paragraphs only indicate the beginning of a new IDEA not a new EVENT per say. i.e

I laughed quietly to myself, only imagining what Gray would say if he heard all of that. I could also just barely detect the smile that crept across Ander’s face as he watched from where he was still kneeling beside them on the ground.

It was obvious that both of the boys loved the older man, but it was also easy to understand why he might test their nerves sometimes. He wasn’t the most patient or easy to get along with.

I couldn’t see Matthias’s face since his back was turned to us, but I could see that he had become less tense and more relaxed.

This would be one paragraph, not three. The idea is still the same,

EITHER THAN THAT

In love with the story,
Koodoos =]