Show Them What it Means To Be Alive

as you are right now to me

Melanie’s legs hit the ground when the forest cleared and the headlights faded into the distance. As her feet flew forward from underneath her, she nearly doubled over to keep from falling as she continued to jog forward to absorb the momentum.

“Oh my god,” She breathed as she was finally able to gain control over her legs again. She aimlessly wandered around to catch her breath.

“Mel why can’t you breathe? I’m the one who had to carry you! And your looks deceive you, because you’re pretty fucking dense for your size apparently,” Jack teased, although with Jack you know there’s no harm intended.

“One,” Melanie acted insulted, “If it wasn’t so dark and I could actually see something, I assure you I would hit you,” She pointlessly placed her hands on her hips.

“I’ll take that liberty,” Alex announced as he shoved his best friend
Judging by the proceeding sounds, he received a shove back.

“And two, I can’t breathe because that was fucking terrifying. Please in the future refrain from offering piggyback rides until you weigh more than a hundred pounds.”

“Buuuuuurrnnn,” Rian was heard laughing from far away.

“Melanie,” Zack’s voice this time, “Not like I can see three feet in front of me, but if you’re where I am, which it sounds like you are, I suggest you stop moving.”

“Wh—” Mel began, but as the wooden ground sank beneath her, she yelped and jumped back in surprise.

“Got it!” Rian yelled as the whole area illuminated. They were in a gorgeous field, the new light reflected off of the contours of the hills surrounding the five, and the light was just enough to see the beginnings of the tree line that fenced them in. Near the center of the field, literally right at the only girl’s feet, was a small, self-contained lake. A dock spanned about half of the circle, thankfully the half that Melanie’s feet landed on, and a straight expanse of a T-shaped dock jutted of into the lake. Half of that was lined with canoes and paddleboats.

Rian stepped out of what could best be described as a storage shack that was set up at the edge of the forest.

Although the majority of the expanse was now visible, they all knew that they shouldn’t worry about the light, as it was no match for the dense woods.

“Oh,” Melanie’s mouth made the same shape as the noise she was making.

“Looks like we found the elusive rec lake,” Alex pointed out

“I wouldn’t say elusive,” Rian laughed, “It’s just that none of us really took the time to find it, ever. Or do anything physical for that matter”

“Except Alex and Mel. They sure like to get physical,” Jack snickered as he jokingly thrusted into the air. Melanie flipped him off, now that he could see her.

“Shouldn’t we get back anyway though?”
“Nah. I wouldn’t want to risk it”
“And we could go skinny dipping!” Jack suggested
“Anyway, the forest’s too dense for this late at night. Much easier in than out”
“Skinnnnyyyy Dipppinnnggg,” Jack persisted as he pulled down his pants

“That actually doesn’t sound like such a bad idea,” Melanie mused, disgusted at how it could be so hot and humid at what had to have been 2AM.

“But I’m not taking my clothes off until I get into the water," She added.

Somehow, Jack agree with that logic.

“I’ll race you,” Melanie stood next to the now naked boy at the end of the dock. They both sprinted, but at the end of the dock she planted her feet and watched as her friend flew into the water.

“Fuck you!” Jack feigned offended
“That’s my job” Alex teased
“You wish.” His girlfriend teased back with a wink.

In the meantime, Zack had seen no problem in taking off his shirt and jumping in.

“Fine I’ll go. But tell me it isn’t co—” She stopped as she realized Jack was no longer in the spot she was aiming her conversation at

Before she could blink, Melanie was being held onto and dragged down into the water.

“Fucking hell!” The girl shouted as she surfaced, spitting out water and reaching out to the dock as the held on for support as she took her shorts off.

Alex raised his eyebrows. “Shut up,” Melanie laughed as she threw her soaked shorts up on the dock, “They were heavy and I didn’t want to drown”

She cringed as she heard her phone in her shorts hit the dock – the shorts that were seconds ago submerged underwater. She shrugged it off. ‘I’ve been meaning to get a new one’, she sighed to herself.

Melanie tried to pull her shirt over her head but the water stuck the shirt to her skin, and whenever she took both forearms off the dock she began to submerge a little.

She instead leaned up on the dock and made an innocent face, “Alex, care to help me?”

“Hell yes,” He got down on his knees and leaned over, running his hands down Melanie’s back and tucking his fingers under the back of her shirt. She arched her back as he peeled her shirt off of her.

“Thank you,” she teased leaning in for a kiss as she pushed up a little bit more, making sure what she had just exposed was now in visible sight to her boyfriend.

Their lips met.
Their tongues met. Alex moaned.
Melanie pulled Alex’s hair. He moaned harder
Her hands traveled lower, and gripping Alex’s back, she threw herself back, pulling him into the lake. He screamed.

Melanie, on the other hand, was in a fit of hysterical laughter.

*

About half an hour brought everyone comfortably into the water, playing around and relaxed enough to the point where they forgot that they were all at least half naked.

That is, if it wasn’t for Jack floating around on a canoe, relaxing, yet looking more like a beached whale than anything.

“Hey Jack,” Alex pulled away from his girlfriend's lips and released one of his arms that was trapping her between him and the dock. Half an hour had brought little change between the two, who had resorted back to being attached at the hip (almost literally) after a quick game of chicken.

“Can you go inside the canoe and not lay on top of it? It’s pretty unsettling how the moonlight reflects off your ass,” He teased his friend

“Because I’m sure the poor little fishies love the front row seat of you two all but fucking in their home,” Jack retaliated

“Touché” Zack shouted right before he cannonballed off of the dock.
“Race you to the paddleboats?” Melanie suggested
“No no no no no missy. I don’t like your ‘races’.” Alex shook his head, remembering what she had done to Jack.

“True, true. I’m pretty tired anyway,” Melanie lifted herself onto the dock, lying on her back with her arms behind her ears. She felt a pair of hands on her waist and before she knew it she was lying on her boyfriends’ chest, hearing a duet of his breathing and heartbeat, looking up into the stars.

The two stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity. But they did stay like that, through every splash that they received from one of their friends, or every shiver than ran through Melanie’s spine as water continued to drip down the contours of her back. Because they shared more than just a mutual need for body heat, calmness, or feeling; it was a mutual understanding, a wordless agreement on exactly where they were in that moment in time, and nothing else mattered.

but there’s room for two, six feet under the stars.