"I wonder if you look both ways when you cross my mind."

-See You Again, Tyler, The Creator

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"Where are we going?" I ask.

Alec stops, turns and stretches out his hand to me. "Do you trust me?"

"I think you already know my answer," I reply, and take his hand. It's warm. Really warm. I grip tighter, never wanting him to let go.

"Perfect," he says in an up-beat tone, jogging again.

I follow him into the woods and we trek for some time. When I slow down a little, losing breath a lot quicker than I would've before Naomi beat the living daylights out of me, Alec stops. Before I can think twice, he hoists me onto his back and begins to run.

I don't know how he can run at the same speed as before with me on his back. But we make it to the fence in record-breaking time and he helps me over. When he lands beside me we run a little longer before making it to the clearing where his Harley is sat, chained to a tree.

I grin when I see it, Alec unlocking the chain. Without saying a word, we sit on the motorbike and Alec revs the engine before skidding down the dirt track and onto the road.

The motorbike races down the empty road, and I call over the wind, "What are we doing?"

He laughs, the intense wind brushing back his deep brown hair. "Having fun."

I wrap my arms tighter around his waist and rest my head on his shoulder, watching the moon sit high in the pitch black sky.

Eventually, he pulls up at the cliff edge that we first kissed a million years ago. Alec kills the engine and hops off the motorbike, stretching out his hand to me.

"Why are we back here?" I ask, taking his hand and interlocking our fingers.

"I told you. We're having fun," he says, and begins to run to the edge of the cliff, towing me along.

Realisation dawns on me, but it's too late. Alec has already leapt off the edge of the cliff, and I have no choice but to jump with him.

We plummet to the ocean below, time slowing almost to a stop. The only sound is my stretched gasp and the ripple of the black waves lapping against the shore.

And then we crash into the ocean, the adrenaline still pumping through my veins. I'm submerged in the pitch black silence for a moment until I resurface, gasping for air and treading water while I push my wet hair out my eyes.

When Alec doesn't resurface, I look around frantically, calling his name. Suddenly, he jumps out of the water, making me jump for the second time in less than an hour.

I smack his arm as he laughs hysterically, pushing his own soaking locks out of his eyes and over his head.

"Aw, you care," he says with pouty lips.

"You're my ride back, I don't want to walk," I reply mockingly, and he laughs. We begin to swim back to shallower waters, and stop when we can stand properly.

Alec turns to me and puts his hands onto my shoulders, drawing level with me. "Now, was that fun or was that fun?"

"A little heads-up would've been good, but yes, I had fun," I admit, staring at the foot of water brushing up to our knees. I smile and follow him to the sand, where we plonk ourselves down.

I sit with my legs crossed while Alec sits with his legs outstretched in front of him.

"Are you going to tell me why we're really here?" I ask quietly, watching the tide draw closer and then shrink back.

Alec watches me while I watch the ocean, and replies, "You love freedom. This feeling you get when you're free, and all you've been for the past two weeks is trapped. Trapped in a school, trapped in a deal with Bailey and Naomi and then trapped in the hospital. I figured it can't be good for you."

I release a short laugh and shake my head, playing with a handful of sand in front of me and keeping my eyes trained on that instead of on Alec. "You're more observant than anyone gives you credit for."

He shifts closer to me and pulls me close, his arm around my shoulders. I rest my head on his chest.

We smile, but my smile fades when I remember something that has been playing around my mind for a while. Something that I was observant enough to pick up. Maybe I shouldn't mention it. It will ruin the moment. But there's no better time to ask him than now when we're completely alone.

"Alec?" I murmur.

"Uh huh?" he replies, trailing his finger in smooth circles on my arm distractedly.

"Naomi said something at the fight, and I've been thinking about it for a while."

"Shoot."

I hesitate. "She said that you always end up going for the pretty ones. What does that mean?" I ask quietly.

He chuckles humourlessly and sits back, arm falling from my shoulder. "We're having the exes talk? Now?"

"Hm." I look up at him.

He doesn't say anything for a moment. Alec then sighs, gazing down at the sand. "I dated someone a while ago. A Fighter. That's who Naomi was talking about."

"What happened?" I ask, his answer a little too vague.

"She's not around anymore," he murmurs under his breath, barely loud enough for me to hear at all.

Realisation comes slowly, like it's easing itself into my mind so it doesn't make my heart hurt as much. "You dated the girl who fell from the roof, right? Elena."

He sighs again, and nods. Smiling lightly, eyes distant, he reminisces, "Elena...what can I say? She was an incredible person. Deserved more than Redwood Academy. She was...beautiful. Had this head of short, wavy black hair and big grey eyes. She was smart, caring, so unbelievably kind. At first she was shy, but she was a Fighter. A lot of people picked on her because she didn't speak much, but I spent my time looking after her and I guess I started to like her. And then she...died." His voice cracks a little at the end.

"Alec, I'm so sorry."

"The Fighters were mad that a Socio pushed her, and I think the Socios began to believe it was one of them who did it. But I knew that wasn't the case. She had jumped. Elena...she wasn't as happy as she pretended to be. She was battling some of her own demons and sometimes those things become too much for people like her." He pauses. "I should've told you sooner."

I shake my head. "No, you didn't."

He finally meets my gaze, eyes sorrowful. "Liv, I did love Elena very much. I figured that my love for her was enough to keep her from ending it all. I was wrong. But that was a long time ago. I love you."

I smile and press my lips gently to his cheek.

He grins and looks down at his lap, his hair beginning to dry a little. Mine is still soaking and my clothes are sticking to me, but it's nothing to complain about, not when I'm here with Alec.

But his smile soon disappears when he glances at my neck. "You're not wearing your necklace."

I widen my eyes and my hand shoots to my neck where I fumble for the gold chain frantically. Oh no.

"If you don't want to wear it, I get it-"

"No! What if I lost it in the ocean?" I ask, eyes grazing across the sea.

He shakes his head. "No, I noticed you didn't have it on earlier."

I jump up and hurry across the sand to the steps that lead up to the road. "I must've dropped it on Sunday at the clearing."

Alec appears at my side and takes hold of my hand. I can't have lost it. I feel that horrible feeling in my stomach that you get when you lose something important, and my face only reflects the sickness in my stomach.

Alec stops me in place and puts his hands onto my shoulders, eyes calm. "Liv, we'll find it. Don't worry. Just breathe."

I breathe slowly and nod. "Okay. Okay."

He takes my hand firmly in his and we run to the motorbike.

***

I follow Alec through the woods and towards the clearing. It is extremely late, maybe even early morning, but my fear of losing this necklace has scared away any fatigue I could possibly conjure up.

It's not about the necklace itself, it's a materialistic thing. It's about what it symbolises. Alec.

We rush towards the clearing, and without the raging fire, it is almost unrecognisable.

"Watch your step," Alec mumbles as we clamber down the steep dip into the clearing.

I rush towards the post and the pitch black makes it hard to see my own feet, never mind the necklace. I feel for the wooden post, and a putrid smell hits my nose. Must be the fumes mixing with my dried blood from the fight or something. With Alec searching right behind me, I fumble around in the dark for the chain.

My hands feel something thin and metallic and I pick it up. I feel the cool metal and breathe a sigh of relief.

"You found it?" Alec asks, standing up.

"Yeah, I got it," I say and begin to stand up as well, placing the chain into my back pocket so I can put it on when I can actually see what I'm doing.

I'm about to leave when my foot hits something hard and thick next to the post. I frown and stop, gripping Alec's hand to pull him back.

"What is that?" I ask quietly. Alec is silent for a moment, searching for something in a nearby shrub, and returns with two sticks. He grinds them together for a moment before a flame erupts from the wood.

He holds the flame close to the post and our eyes widen.

Naomi is lying against the post, blood covering almost every part of her. Flies fly around her body.

And they swarm around the slash mark in her throat.