A/N: Italics will depict an event that is going on at the same time but at another place with another person.

The sound of the sharp bell echoed in the classroom signalling the end of the last period. Wynter stood up with the rest of the students, grabbing at his notebook with his left hand he walked outside the room, nodding at the teacher in goodbye.

An arm came around his shoulders immediately. Julian. He grinned at Wynter "Sup Wynter?"

"Get off me" was his reply. Wynter placed a hand on Julian's chest and shoved him away gently.

"Wynter I ditched my date to hangout with you. You should be happy to see me" Julian pouted sadly, throwing his arm around Wynter again. The dark haired boy glared at him but didn't make any move to shove him off again knowing that Julian would keep repeating his actions as long as Wynter reacted to them.

"A date with your laptop?" Wynter asked, checking his phone for messages from Hayden's class teacher. He knew about Wynter's....condition. So he sent Wynter updates about Hayden. If she was improving in her lessons, if she was alright at school, if she was making friends and so on. When Wynter didn't find any messages he smiled to himself, Hayden was getting better. The messages were less frequent now.

"Yeah. She's high maintenance so I'm thinking of ending things. What do you think? Should I give this a second chance?" Julian asked, pretending to be serious about it although he knew he would never end things with his laptop. The laptop was one of the most important things in his life. He had Netflix on there, his favourite pictures with his favourite people were on it and all the graphics he had made including the fan art for some of his favourite shows and books.

"Are you always this high?" Wynter asked, glancing at the boy walking next to him. Wynter's eyes lingered on a thin scar just above Julian's cheekbone. He hadn't noticed it before and he wasn't surprised about it. It was barely visible unless you see it from up close.

"No I decided to do a little extra today" Julian joked, stuffing a hand into the pockets of his jeans. He returned people's nods with a slight smile, an arm still hanging over Wynter's shoulder. It didn't look like he was going to move it anytime soon.

"Anyway," Julian continued, "When does Hayden get home? I was thinking we could hit the diner down the street"

"Do you want to spoil my sister with food? Anyway I'll have to pick her up at four in the evening. She's in a school play so she's staying back for practice. She's really excited about it"

Julian's lips lifted up in a smile "That's great. Can I come along to watch it?"

"Sure" Wynter shrugged, in the process successfully making Julian's arm fall off his shoulders.

"You up for the diner? I wanna check out their chicken burger. Apparently it's the best" Julian mused, tongue poking the inside of his cheek as he tried to remember Ren's exact words.

It's heaven. Best burger in the whole continent.

Ren would know. He's been all over the continent. Every time there were holidays, Ren would pack up his duffle bag and set out with his dad to visit a random place. Julian would tag along sometimes.

"Not today...I have to go somewhere" Wynter answered, looking at Julian with a slight smile to convey apology.

"Rain check?" Julian pouted, eyes hopeful and begging.

"Sure. I'll text you later" Wynter nodded at the green eyed boy before turning and walking off towards his bicycle.

The lake was where he was going. Wynter didn't know if the lake had a name. He just knew that people never came to swim in it because it was too deep. One step into the water and then the land dropped down steeply. Occasionally people came to just sit at the edge or spend picnic time with their families. Wynter personally thought that the reason the lake was avoided by most was because of the water ghoul rumours which he was to blame for. It wasn't that he made the rumours about the water ghouls but rather the fact that he himself was the supposed water ghoul. The rumours had started about an year ago when a small group of high-school friends had gone to the lake in the middle of the night to fool around and smoke.

Wynter had been in the water, chasing away the voices in his head. He had stayed under the surface for about seven minutes and when he swam back to the surface he had heard loud screams and shouts. By the time he had gotten rid of the water in his eyelashes, the teenagers were already racing back towards their cars. The next day the whole school was buzzing with rumours about how Janelle, Brendan and the Dexter Twins had come across a water ghoul the previous night. The ghoul apparently had pale skin and long black hair that reached it's waist. Wynter had almost laughed at the description. He was definitely not pale. Being half-Latino and also sitting as a life guard at the public swimming pool under the sun without any sunscreen had tanned his skin into a deep dusky gold colour. Also, Wynter's hair barely fell past his ears. Brendan exaggerated things all the time.

Wynter ran a hand over the dark, shiny body of his bicycle and then looked back, tempted to call out to Julian and ask him if he wanted to come along with him. A petite and short girl with box braids was talking to Julian. She covered her face with her hands while Julian rubbed her back comfortingly, his lips pressed together in sympathy. As Wynter watched, Julian hugged her with one arm, nodding at whatever she was saying.

Wynter looked away. Olivia Smith was no doubt going to spill out her life problems to Julian. And he was going to comfort her and help her get through it, because he was Julian Sanders and if he wasn't going to help her the no one would. Teenagers needed something or someone to express their frustrations to. They are never trusted with the world. Elders often forget that when they're gone these childish, ignorant and prideful teenagers will be the ones taking care of the world.

Wynter glanced a last time at Julian before getting on the seat of his bicycle and stepping on his peddles, cycling out of the parking lot.

Julian looked down at Olivia who's eyes were filling up with tears. He stroked her back once again, whispering things that he didn't even believe himself. His eyes flicked up once to look at where Wynter had been standing. The dark-haired boy wasn't there anymore.

"Olivia. Let's talk about this somewhere else okay? Does the cafeteria sound good?"

When she nodded, he steered her back into the building, half of his mind still thinking about the dark-haired boy who was no doubt going to the lake. And it was definitely not for swimming practice.

Wynter let down his body into the water slowly, letting his skin get used to the temperature. And then he let go of the land, feeling his body sink down to the bottom. He tilted forward, spreading his body horizontally as he swam to the middle of the lake, where it was the deepest and the most peaceful. The voices would leave him alone. They were already fading away.

Would it be painful for Hayden if he faded away like the voices? She probably wouldn't remember him when she was grown up. But she would definitely hate him for abandoning her. It hurt just to think of it. It hurt to just think that Hayden could ever hate him. Wynter wanted an escape from the world. He wished for a better universe, where his mom wasn't dead and his dad still loved him. Where Hayden didn't have to eat take-out food and fruits most days for dinner. Where he could sleep-in or hangout with his friends at weekends. Maybe he could've met Julian earlier. Maybe he wouldn't have been such a loner.

Julian wasn't paying attention to whatever Olivia was saying. He processed bits and pieces but the rest flew around his head, nothing really getting in. Would Wynter do it again? Stay underneath the surface until he couldn't breathe? Julian had promised himself not to interfere in Wynter's problems but he was on the edge of forgetting about it all. It took every ounce of his will power to not go after the dark-haired boy and stop him from putting himself in danger.

Good thing Julian had a lot of willpower. But none of it stood a chance against his conscience. He interrupted Olivia mid-sentence and very apologetically explained that he had something very important to do. That it was a matter of life and death. He promised to make it upto to her the next day and shakily grabbed all his belongings. Olivia looked taken back. Julian never walked out on a conversation. She watched in confusion as he hurried out like someone was going to set themselves on fire.

Wynter felt the buoyant force push him upwards like always. He waited for the air in his body to run out so that he could swim upwards towards the surface.

Julian threw himself into his car, ignoring the curious looks he was getting from everyone. He revved the engine and drove out, foot pressing on the accelerator.

Wynter was flying. He felt free. He sank further down, hands spread out on either sides as if welcoming death. The air would run out in a few more minutes.

Julian drove like a mad man. He jumped signals and overtook buses. His breathing was ragged and his head was filled with images of all the situations he would come across when he found Wynter.

The air was running out. Wynter smiled, swimming upwards towards the surface. He paused when he heard vibrations in the water. Loud vibrations of sound travelling.

Julian hopped out of his car, not even bothering to close the door, he ran to the edge of the lake and cupped his palms to his mouth "Wynter-whatever the fuck your middle name is-Black! Get out of the water or I'll kick your ass to another planet! Wynter!" he yelled out, forcing his voice to be as loud as possible. Birds took off from the tree branches and flew farther away.

Wynter flapped his legs and pushed himself higher. When he broke through the surface he heard Julian. The other boy was calling out to him. Although his words were very colourful there was no mistaking the worry hidden in them.

"Julian?" Wynter gasped out, erupting into a fit of coughs.

Julian exhaled in relief and bent down to clutch on his knees for support.
"You're such an asshole!" Julian yelled out at the dark-haired boy who was swimming closer to the shore.

Julian was tempted to punch him in the face but he valued his hand too much and didn't want to break it. Wynter's face was all angles and bones, flesh filling only his cheeks and if Julian tried something he would damage himself more than the other boy.

"Why are you here?" Wynter asked, his palms flat on the land as he pushed himself up. He let Julian help him stand up before pulling at his wet shirt so that it wouldn't stick to his skin.

"I was just making sure you didn't kill yourself" Julian answered, walking back towards his car. He didn't want the other boy to see his face, to see how scared he had been. He pushed down his overwhelming thoughts and picked up Wynter's bicycle, placing it in the trunk of his car.

Wynter was alive. He was okay. He wasn't suicidal. He was alright. Wynter was alive.

And in that second nothing else mattered.

A/N: Hey yall! I'm grateful to everyone who's stuck around to read Wynter and Julian's story! I love youuuu

I would also like suggestions on how to make this book better!

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