I won't say I'm easily influenced. Peer pressure? I've never known her. But there was something about Jack that just made me go along with whatever crazy shit he said. Maybe it was his voice, the way it pleaded with me. Or maybe it was his eyes, staring into my naked soul. Or maybe it was the love I had for him. And god, I loved him. There was nothing I wouldn't do for him.

So that evening at the riverside, when he asked me to dive into the unexplored body of water, I agreed. Of course I agreed, even though I didn't want to. And as we jumped from the cliff, our bodies crashing into the cold water, I was momentarily paralyzed. The water filled my lungs as I panicked, struggling to find my way back up. It took everything in me to swim, but I powered through. And as those near-death coughs violently raked through my body after I gasped for air, I looked around for Jack.

"Jack! Jack! Where the fuck are you, bro? This isn't a fucking joke," I screamed in between coughs.

When Jack didn't respond after a few more screams and shouts, I felt my gut twist. I went back underwater to look for him, desperately searching in the murky depths. But it was dark, and I couldn't see a thing. I resurfaced, gasping for air, and dove back in, over and over, until my muscles burned with exhaustion.

"Oh god. Oh god. Oh fuck, please lord," I whispered under my breath as I rushed back to shore. It was just Jack and I out here. The closest help was at least 20 minutes away. Jack drove us out here. I couldn't fucking drive.

I picked up my phone, wanting to call the police, but there was no service. Then I started screaming for help.

"Help! Help! Is anyone out there? Please help us!"

Then came the crying. The sounds that came out of me, I couldn't believe it. It was gut-wrenching, even to me making them. I wanted to stop, pick myself up, focus on figuring this issue out, but I couldn't. I was breaking down on that riverside. I'd never felt that kind of hopelessness in my life, and I just wanted my mother. In that moment, I remembered the first time my mother told me I should learn how to say no.

"Don't let anybody push you into doing anything you don't want to. Say no and walk away," she had said. But she was talking about drugs, and I always said no to that. I couldn't say no to Jack. He was a different kind of drug. One no one had ever warned me about.

"Bro! You should see yourself right now." A voice said, bringing me out of my thoughts. A voice that sounded familiar. A voice that belonged to Jack.

I spun around, and there he was, standing on the shore, a smirk on his face. "Jack? What the hell? I thought you were..." My voice trailed off as I stared at him, a wave of relief and confusion crashing over me.

"God. I wish I could take a picture of your face."

"This is so fucked up Jack, even for you. This is a new level of fucked up." I wiped the tears off my face and started packing my things.

Jack walked up to me, "Hey, don't be mad. It was just a prank."

"I'm not mad. I just want to go home. Let's just fucking leave here." I started towards the car.

As we drove away from the riverside, I could feel the tension leave my body.

"You're so fucking insane you know that right?" I said, the laughter erupting from the deepest parts of me.

"I know," he laughed too.

As the car filled with a sweet blend of our laughter, I stole a glance at him, his profile illuminated by the dashboard lights, and I knew that I would say yes if he asked me to jump into that water again with him. And I knew that he knew that too.

"But don't do this again. For real."