"Wait up, Ryn! Slow down! I- can't - run - that- fast.." I finally gave up as I slowed my steps down and rested my hands on my knees and bend down, panting as the sun's rays hit my back. I wiped the thin sheen of sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand and wiggled my toes, loving the feel of the sands as they trickled down from my foot to the ground.

　　"C'mon K! You're taking forever!" Irene called out from the edge of the ocean where the sea water licked the sand. She had already taken off her top and shorts, leaving her in the purple colored bikini and I straightened up once again to jog over.

　　I took off my crop top and shorts, revealing the light blue colored bikini set that I bought specially for this summer.

　　I looked into the horizon as I saw Irene collecting shells on the edges of the ocean where the sand was damp from being splashed by the salty water. The sun has yet to rise since it's still 4:30 in the morning.

　　I ran towards Irene and jumped on her back without a sound. At least, not until I've landed on her back and she almost fell. She yelped and caught my thighs as she tried to balance herself at the same time. I giggled at her ridiculous state and quickly jumped off her back and ran towards the waters.

　　"Kylie! Get your butt here this instant!" Irene screamed at me but I just chuckled and swam away. The thing is, Irene may run fast but I have always been a better and faster swimmer, no matter how many hours a day she practice just to beat me. So water is practically working in my favor in slowing her down.

　　"Kylie! Be careful! You'll get washed away with the tides! Don't get too far from the shore!" Irene shouted at me like a worried mother. Did I mention she's afraid of the ocean? Well, yes. She is. She almost got washed away once and she has never dared to step anywhere further than four steps from the shore and when the tides get higher, she'll move back and just sit on the sand, her legs and her abdomen under the water while the her upper body would just stay dry.

　　"Chill, Ryn! It's fine! Come on, get in here before the tide gets too high for you!" I shouted back at her and she slowly trudged her way, cutting through the water towards me. Irene is just an inch shorter than me while I'm 5'6, yet she would grumble under her breath on how tall I am and how short she is and how she prefers walking with her mother because she would look taller that way.

　　She's a chatterbox, alright. But I love her that way. Some guys from school would bully her in the past, before we became friends and she would stay quiet, letting them say what they wanted until one day I met her and took her under my wing. No guy has turned the other way unintimidated after throwing any form of insults towards her since then and fortunately for both of us, she's been braver. She'll insult the jerks back and won't back down, letting her stubbornness win over.

　　Irene was that ball of happiness and sunshine that lights up the room but not all people were able to see it since they're too busy being conceited. Some see her as the freak because majority of her life is circling the fandom universe and she took little notice in the real life and while others think it was abnormal, I think the fictional life is a beauty to live in. I was happy for her on how she had her own escape from this cruel world.

　　Throughout the years my mission alternated from protecting her to getting her to open up and regain the confidence everyone in this world should have. I love her like my sister and even though she's 4 months older than I am, she acts way more childish. She has her fair share of tough childhood and sometimes I'd find myself marveling on how she had survived all that.

　　She means the world to me and I couldn't stand a day without her. I grinned as I watched her waddle her way into the water and stopped short when it reached her upper thighs. I splashed her face before diving down into the water. We played for sometime before taking a rest and just lay on the towel we laid out on the sand.

　　We panted for air, trying to even out our breathing and the sun was coming up. "Hey K?" Irene spoke up as we watched the first vague signs of the sun coming up as the sky was tainted with splashes of pink. I hummed in response as I laid my head on her shoulder.

　　"We'll always be friends, right? I mean, we're not gonna split up like all those people who separated when high school ends, are we?" She asked while her head instinctively laid itself on mine as we gazed off into the sky that was soon turning into a mixture of pink, blue, orange, red and yellow.

　　"Ryn, we're parabatai's. You're stuck with me." I teased with a shove on her shoulder and a soft smile on my face. She giggled as she shoved me back, the giggle died down and she mirrored my smile as we got back to the same position, this time her head on my shoulder.

　　"Til death do us part." She whispered softly under her breath. "Til death do us part." I repeated, confirming it.

　　We sat there and gaze off into the horizon as the sun finally emerged in the distance.

　　If only we knew that death will part us much sooner.