9: At The Age Of Twelve

Chapter 9:

Hazel POV:

"What in the world is this place?" I asked in amazement to no one in particular.

In front of me was a sort of huge lake and high cliffs enclosed the area with only a tiny cave encaved on the far end on the other side and a there was a sort of waterfall right on top of the cave. There was a sort of passageway on one side were Louis parked to get to the top, further downwards before the edge of the lake was a straight rock-surfaced part where people were supposed to sit and sunbathe or whatever before they go swimming but I didn't think that a lot of people knew about this place since we had to drive for around an hour to get to this place and I think it might be out of town since we were almost close to the sea. The air lingered a smell of salty water and the smell of summer. The sun was still high up and shining, considering that it was winter.

"Welcome to our place-ish," Louis said and furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "Well at least I think it's ours."

I looked at him questioningly. I was still alone with the five of them but, according to Niall, Jesy and Lenni where supposed to arrive a few more hours but by that time it was too dark so they decided to not come which left me alone. With five idiots.

They started taking their things out of the car and Harry handed me my bag and he walked towards the part next to the edge and expected him to take off his clothes and jump into the water but no. How wrong was I to think of that. He dumped his towel on the ground, then took off his top and jeans which left him with his bathing shorts. Then he skipped towards the pathway which lead to the top part which was way too high, for my liking.

"C'mon get going," he replied before running up the passageway.

"What?" I asked him, my eyes starting to widen.

He smirked and looked at Zayn, I followed his gaze and looked at Zayn questioningly. He looked away, covering a smile. "Apparently Mr Malik didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" I asked curiously.

"We jump," Louis butted in, looking upwards. "From up there."

"I am not jumping from up there!" I protested and the five of them rolled their eyes. "I'm serious."

"Sure you are," Louis replied and took off his top and jeans and followed Harry, which had already almost reached the top. Liam soon followed them and quickly caught up with Louis, Harry had already reached the top and was looking down at us.

"C'mon Haze, it's fun!" Niall said, throwing his towel next to Harry's. "You won't die."

"But it's probably not deep enough!" I protested and caught Zayn taking his shirt off, my breath slightly hitched in my throat but I slightly covered it up. The five of them were fit, I couldn't deny that.

"It is! We've done this for the last two years!" he yelled and jogged up the passage way. I groaned and looked at Zayn, giving him my best death glares. He smirked and threw his jeans and top in Louis' car and slammed the car door shut.

"HAZEL! HI!" I heard Harry yell from the top. I looked up and saw him waving down at me, Louis and Liam walked next to him and they both waved, a grin plastered on their faces. "COME ON DORK!"

"I hate you!" I yelled at Zayn and he chuckled.

"I love you too, now come on! We have to go," he said and leaned on the car.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "I'm not jumping from up there."

"Whoever comes with us here, has to jump from up there and we jump all together," he replied with a smirk. "It's a tradition."

"What sort of tradition is that!?"

"Our kind of tradition," he replied and I groaned. "Come on! Or I'll carry you up there."

I arched an eyebrow at him. "No thank you. I wouldn't like to be cornered in a bathroom by your little bitch you call your girlfriend."

His eyes widened and he was all serious. "What?"

"Like you don't know."

"I don't, what did she do?" he asked, sounding serious.

"Slapped me across my face but then got all scared."

"Why?"

"Because I stood up for myself," I replied. "I'm not a wimp, you know."

He smirked and chuckled. "Then if you're not a wimp, you'll jump from up there."

I gave him the 'Are You Serious' look and he nodded, smiling like the Cheshire cat. I sighed out noisily and bit my lip and groaned silently. I took off my jeans and felt the cold air hit my naked legs. I shivered and rolled my jeans in a ball and threw it at him. He caught it swiftly and threw it in the car from the open window. I took off my hoodie and shivered.

"I hate you," I said through gritted teeth, shivering continuously. I threw it at him and, again, he caught it swiftly and threw it in the car. I took my hair out of the ponytail and pulled it into a messy bun instead. We both started walking towards the top. When we reached it, I was practically an ice cube. The boys didn't seem affected and they all lined a bit far from the edge so that they could run and jump.

I stood behind them, hugging myself for some sort of warmth but I wasn't going to get that any time soon. Louis turned his head and smirked wickedly at me. I sent him my best death glare and he chuckled.

"C'mon dork, you're in the middle," he said and motioned for me to stand next to him.

Slowly, I walked next to him and situated myself between Zayn and Harry. Harry put his arm around my shoulder and looked at me.

"Just don't think that you're gonna die! Feel like a bird!" he said with an idiotic grin on his face. I smacked his bare chest and he chuckled.

"I think we should part a bit, so we don't get hurt," Liam said his voice trailing off, slightly looking at me.

They all moved a few steps sideways and had a few paces between each other. I silently whimpered and looked at Harry and made a pleading look for me to not do it but he shook his head with a smirk. I sighed out noisily and straightened.

"Everyone ready?" Niall asked from my left, next to Zayn.

The rest of the boys said a 'yeah' but I didn't respond.

"Haze, you ready?" he asked, looking at me.

"No."

He chuckled and looked ahead of him, rubbing his hands together. "Ready."

"Set," Louis said, his voice filled with excitement.

"JUMP!" they all yelled and they all ran forwards, jumping and disappearing downwards. I was still hugging myself as I saw them disappearing not daring to move one limb from it's place. I didn't jump with them, I wasn't that stupid but I knew that I had to do it one time or another or else they'll throw me, I swear to God that's what they'd do. I sighed and walked towards the edge and looked downwards. I saw their heads pop up one by one and they all looked at each other and gave each other a high five, then looked around and started panicking. I smiled when I noticed that they were searching for me.

"Where the hell is she!?" I heard Liam say, panic clear in his voice.

They looked around them in the water, waiting for a body to pop out but nothing. Then Louis looked up and noticed me looking down at them all.

"YOU DORK!" he yelled, splashing water everywhere. I saw all of their heads turn upwards and from what I could hear, I heard them groan in annoyance. "You do realise it's either you jump or we throw you, right!?"

See, I told you.

"But it's fucking scary!" I yelled.

"JUST FUCKING JUMP!" Harry screamed and I groaned and moved backwards. "Is she gonna jump?" I heard him ask. I repositioned myself where we were all standing a few minutes before.

"HAZEL!?" one of them yelled but I wasn't taking any notice of them.

I breathed out heavily and looked ahead of me. "One," I whispered.

"I think she's gonna jump," I heard Harry say and a bunch of splashing, I rolled my eyes and continued.

"Two," I said, my voice clear. "Three."

With that I ran and when I approached the edge, I jumped and started falling. I started screaming without even realising and unwillingly looked below me. I only saw water and before I knew it, water enveloped me and I was buried beneath it. I stayed a couple of seconds beneath the water and opened my eyes looking upwards. I was way beneath the surface and I could clearly see their bodies way out of reach. I opened my mouth and air bubbles escaped my mouth. I kicked my legs and swam upwards, then I felt something grab my arm and pull me upwards quickly. My face hit the surface and I gulped in air, filling my lungs. I opened my eyes and noticed that Zayn was the one that had helped me upwards.

I looked at the five of them, all of them wearing a smirk. I glared at them and splashed water at the five of them. "I fucking hate you all!" I said through gritted teeth.

"We know you secretly love us, though," Harry smirked and turned and swam towards the edge. "Again!"

"Over my dead body!" I screamed at him and he chuckled while walking back up the passageway. Louis and Niall followed Harry while Liam walked towards the car and grabbed his towel, wiping his face with it. I looked at Zayn and noticed he was smirking at me. "What?"

"Nothing, I just didn't think you were gonna do it," he replied and flipped his hair and water droplets flew everywhere.

I rolled my eyes and swam towards the edge. He grabbed my ankle and pulled me downwards, I screamed but it was all in vain since I was beneath the water. I grabbed his leg and pulled him downwards, I saw his body coming downwards. I kicked my legs and swam upwards and quickly swam towards the edge. I pulled myself upwards with ease and turned around. Zayn resurfaced and looked at me with an 'Are You Serious?' look. I smiled and walked towards the car and grabbed my towel from the car and wrapped it around me. He pulled himself out of the water and took his towel from the car and wiped his face and hair, then flipped his hair again and somehow arranged it and placed it like it usually is.

I heard someone yell and saw three figures sinking down and into the water, creating huge splashes. I rolled my eyes and opened the passengers side and sat down, my legs dangling. Louis, Niall and Harry pulled themselves out of the water and walked towards us.

"Now was that so bad?" Harry asked poking my cheek. I gave him a flat look. He chuckled and flipped his hair, water droplets flying everywhere. He breathed out and walked towards the car and grabbed his bag and checked his phone. He raised an eyebrow and looked at Zayn. "Why do I have three missed calls from Sophia?"

Zayn's head shot up and looked at Harry in shock. "You what?"

"Three missed calls from Sophia," Harry repeated in amusement. "Check your phone."

Zayn walked towards the car and checked his phone and winced. "Ten missed calls."

I smirked and bit my tongue, stopping myself from laughing. "I have a missed call from her, too," Niall popped in. Zayn groaned and threw his phone back in his bag and sat down in the back seat, behind me.

"Aren't you going to call her?" I asked him curiously.

He shook his head and I arched an eyebrow at him.

"Wow," I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes. They all looked at me curiously while I checked my phone and found a text from a number which I didn't have in my contacts.

'Hey Zel, it's Chase, got your number from Jesy. I was wondering if tomorrow you'd like to hang out? Text me ;)'

I smiled and felt a tingly sensation start in my stomach. "Why should I call her?"

I looked up and noticed them still looking at me curiously, including Zayn. "Because it's rude. She's been trying to call you at least fifteen times, including Harry's and Niall's missed calls and probably Louis' and Liam's. If it was me, I'd hate it if my boyfriend would do that to me."

He furrowed his eyebrows, looking curiously at me.

"Just call her back and get it over with or you're just going to make the situation much worse," I said, cutting him off and turned my attention back to my phone and decided to text him back.

'I'm supposed to be free tomorrow :) x' I saved his number in my contacts and threw my phone back in my bag and looked back up. Harry was sitting instead of Zayn, Liam, Louis and Niall were sitting down in front of us and Zayn was talking on his phone, pacing. I looked back at the others and rested my head on the head rest.

"I was fucking swimming! You expect me to take my phone everywhere!?" I heard Zayn yell furiously. I glanced over at him and noticed that he looked angry. The boys glanced at him but then continued on whatever they were doing.

"So what do we do now?" I asked and sighed out.

Harry sat up quickly and jumped out of the seat. He looked at us all his eyes wide, he looked at me with a smirk and then looked at his friend with an evil grin.

"We play truth or dare!" he said, excitement filling his voice. "We still have hours until we leave, so whatcha guys think?"

I arched an eyebrow at him but the others agreed with him. Before I could respond, Zayn marched angrily towards us and threw his phone somewhere in the back seat and sat down on the back seat. We looked at him curiously and we he felt our eyes on him, he looked at us, then shot me a weird look.

"Trouble in paradise?" Harry teased, Zayn shot him a warning look and Harry shrugged, a smirk plastered on his lips. "Anyway we were gonna play truth or dare, wanna join?"

He nodded, not bothering to open his mouth. I forced myself to not study his angry features. Harry sat down between Louis and Liam and, obviously, he started asking the first question.

"Hazel," he said, looking at me. "Truth or Dare?"

I rolled my eyes and criss-crossed my legs. "Truth."

"Hmm," he said, biting his lip while thinking. "At what age did you first have sex?"

My eyes widened at that question and I really didn't want to answer it. The rest of the boys looked at Harry in a 'What The Fuck?' look, then looked at me waiting for me to blush or do whatever a girl would do when she is asked that sort of question. At that moment, I wanted to break down and cry but I couldn't do that, not in front of the five of them, anyway.

"Hello?" Harry asked, waving a hand in front of my face. I blinked and looked up, noticing them staring at me curiously. "So, what's the answer or are you still a virgin?"

"I ... um ..." I stuttered. "Can you ask me another question?"

"Nope, if you're still a virgin don't be shy," Harry teased and I shook my head.

"I'm not a virgin," I replied flatly and looked someplace away from their faces. "I was around twelve."

They looked at me, with their eyes wide. I knew that they were going to give me that look but the thing was. I didn't have a boyfriend at the age of twelve, nor a crush or a close guy friend at that age. I didn't have any sort of friend except for my parents (if you can call them friends), Seth, the rest of my cousins and my teacher, Mr Sebastian, which used to come at my house and tutor me since I was home schooled and that was the problem. Mr Sebastian was always the problem and my parents failed to see that until he took advantage of my parents 'trusting' me alone with him because they had to go off early for work that day.

I looked away from them and hugged my knees, burying my head between my chest and knees, avoiding any sort of eye contact or them looking at my face. My eyes filled with tears and they quickly left my eyes and trailed  down my cheeks as the horrible memories filled my mind.