Standing next to her was her fifteen year old cousin, Leilani, both barefooted and both wearing flimsy bikinis.

"I think it's about twenty five. Maybe thirty?" Leilani said, brushing her thick, wavy midnight hair behind her left ear.

"That looks about right. I can't see rocks or anything down there. I think we should be good," Noelani looked behind her to where Jalen who was watching them apprehensively as the two girls examined the height of the waterfall, "Come on."

"I'm not jumping. I told you that this is some crazy ass shit and I'm not doing it." Jalen responded, twirling the drawstring of his swim shorts.

"What's wrong with you dude?" Leilani asked, "It's fine. We do this all the time."

"Yeah, because y'all were born with ocean water in your veins, not blood." Jalen shot back.

Leilani passed Jalen a look before glancing at Noelani, "Okay, whatever pussy. I guess I'm going alone."

Noelani snickered then gave her an apologetic nod then stood back.

"Did she just call me a pussy? Hold up." Jalen started.

The other girl tightened her bikini top before jumping off the cliff, her hair flying up behind her.

Leilani landed with a splash at the bottom of the sea green plunge pool.

She surfaced and put her thumb up causing Noelani to grin and then turn to her boyfriend, "Come on, please. Kelani is seven and she's jumped down a waterfall."

"Was it shorter than this one?" Jalen snarked.

Noelani tucked both of her lips in, "I mean, not much shorter."

Jalen sighed and came closer to regard the waterfall, then glanced at Noelani who quickly gave him a hopeful smile.

Jalen sighed but took Noelani's outstretched hand, "I must love your crazy ass because I wouldn't do this for anyone else."

"Yeah, I love you too kid. It's hella fun. Come on." Noelani pulled him closer to the edge, "Ready?"

"...Yes?" Jalen said in a tentative voice.

Noelani shook her head at his tone and then gripped his hand a little tighter.

The two jumped off the rocky edge, passing greenery, shorter waterfalls and people hiking on the paths etched from the mountainside.

Noelani hit the water and let go of Jalen's hand in order to stay submerged a bit longer.

Underwater, Noelani was surrounded by tiny silver colored fish and seaweed. The bottom was clear of litter and instead was covered by multicolored pebbles.

Noelani swam around for another minute or two before resurfacing.

"Noel! Noel! Baby!" Jalen was calling out to her, his back turned.

"Lovebug. I'm right here." Noelani shook her head, feeling her wet hair flicker water.

Jalen swam over to her, "You let go of my hand and I thought you drowned or some shit."

"Seawater is in my veins remember? Where's Lei?" Noelani asked, looking around for her younger cousin as she wrapped her arms around Jalen's neck.

"Uh, over there." Jalen nodded to where Leilani was freehand climbing on the side of the cliffs, "Is this the type of shit you was doing before you moved?"

"Uh, yeah. I told you there's no amusement parks, no malls near me." Noelani looked around at the secluded waterfall before down at Jalen, "You wanna go again?"

Jalen gave her a look that clearly said 'hell no', "Let me get this straight, you've climbed on the side of cliffs, jump off waterfalls and catch almost seventy foot waves but a Ferris wheel... That's what's scary?"

There was a splash as Leilani rejoined them by entering the plunge pool.

"The seat was rocking." Noelani said simply.

"Wow. Get off me." Jalen responded in a joking tone.

Noelani giggled and tightened her arms around him and in response, Jalen gave her a short kiss on the lips, "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Ew. Get that lovey dovey shit out of here." Leilani interjected.

"Stop hating!" Jalen retorted.

◆ ◆ ◆

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took him on a baecation 📸:@leileikahele

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aw goals

🤍💍I love you

- I love you more

being single sucks lmao

- rft!

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king and queen 🤍💍

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The couple had just returned from the waterfalls from dropping Leilani off at her mother's house.

Jalen was outside in the backyard, talking to Anela, Kai and Makani while Noelani was in her room, putting on clothes from her shower.

In her beach bag, Jalen's phone began to ring with a call from Jack.

Thinking nothing of it since answering her boyfriend's phone wasn't new to her, Noelani swiped the screen, "Hello?"

"Noel?" Jack's voice was timid.

He had been avoiding her since Homecoming but since the two weren't that close to begin with, Noelani had chosen to ignore it for the bigger issues in her life.

"Where's Jalen?"

"He's outside. Can I take a message?"

"I didn't know y'all were still together." Jack continued.

Noelani scoffed, "Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't we still pbe together?"

"Oh, uh. I don't know." Jack said and then the sound of a phone call being hung up sounded in her ear.

Noelani looked at the phone down in disbelief, "The fuck? Jumpy for what?"

Noelani looked out of the small square window a foot or two above her twin bed to see Jalen having a genial conversation with her Uncle Kai and her mother.

She looked down at the unlocked phone and then out to the hallway to ensure that none of her cousins were creeping.

Noelani didn't want to be a bad influence on them.

"It's just to get rid of this feeling. It's probably gonna be nothing." Noelani whispered to herself.

Noelani went to Jalen's messages and scrolled through the app.

"No females. That's good." She commented lowly.

Then Noelani went through the messages of him and his closest friends, Joshua, Dior, R.J and Sharife.

Noelani was about to breathe in a sigh of relief when Jordan Pope crossed her mind, "Damn, forgot about him." She whispered.

As she scrolled through the messages between Jalen and Jordan, her breath caught on a text from early October.

'You don't think that this bet shit is stupid?' Jordan had texted Jalen.

'She's already folding bruh, this shit is easy'

The phone tumbled out of Noelani's hand as several pieces of the previously unknown puzzle came to fit together.

Nimari and Coleman's warnings.

Jalen stiffening up at Jasmine's FaceTime in L.A.

What he had tried to talk to her about when they had first gotten here.

Noelani nodded her head, then scooped the phone off of the ground before roughly tugging the towel off her still wet hair and throwing it to the ground.

Noelani walked to the backdoor and pushed it open.

He was still talking to her uncle and mother and Noelani shuddered a bit.

"Jalen." Noelani called out, causing the boy to look towards her.

"Jalen, can you come in here? I need to talk to you."

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