As if in slow motion I felt myself fall.

I tried to grasp onto something but my hands found nothing and I fell onto the rocky bed of the stream. I felt a sharp stabbing pain shoot up my leg. In the distance someone shouted but the red liquid, the blood, now seeping from my leg distracted me.

"Rory! Rory! Can you hear me?" It felt like I was underwater, the sound was muffled but I managed a nod.

I felt arms wrap around my body and lift me out of the cold water.

"Noah put her down here on the grass."

The world began to grow blurry as tears filled my eyes.

"I'm going for help," I heard June say.

I tried to focus on her voice as Noah put me down on the grass. He pressed something to my leg and I winced.

"Sorry Ror," Noah said. "I'm putting pressure on your cut to stop it bleeding." After a few minutes he'd managed to tie his t-shirt tight enough around my leg that the bleeding stopped. "There we go, now we just need to wait for June."

Pain continued shooting up my leg and I lost track of time.

"Griffin?" I heard Noah suddenly call out. I slowly raised my head and there out of the corner of my vision I saw a familiar figure running across the grass towards us.

"Did she hit her head?" I heard Griffin ask as he reached us.

"No, but I think she's going into shock." Noah replied. "The cut is pretty impressive but not too deep. I've stopped the bleeding so she's not going to bleed out or anything.."

"We need to keep her warm."

"We left our towels by the beach," Noah said.

"Go get them," Griffin ordered. "I'll look after her. I know first aid."

"Keep her safe." Noah must've left then because I didn't hear him again.

"Hey Rory," Griffin said softly, crouching down in front of me. "How are you feeling?"

"You didn't call me princess." I managed to get out. The lump in my throat grew and I tried not to cry. "My leg hurts."

"I know." He took one of my hands in his. "I know it hurts, but you're doing great. You have a pretty epic gash on it but Noah wrapped it up. Does anything else hurt?"

I shook my head slowly, a tear slipping out. "No."

"That's good. That's great actually." He paused and gently wiped away the tear on my cheek. "Jeepers you're cold. Are you able to take off your t-shirt? I need to warm you up."

"I thought you were supposed to be good at seducing girls?" Another tear rolled down my cheek. My leg was throbbing.

Griffin let out a low chuckle. "Trust me princess, you'll know when I'm trying to seduce you."

I was in too much pain to blush.

I leaned closer to him. "You may be a player but guess what, I'm the coach. I'm immune to your charms. I'm immune to you."

"Ok coach." Griffin shook his head with a grin. "You can give me some lessons on seduction another time when you're feeling better. Right now you'll catch hypothermia if you don't change into dry clothes."

"I'm not immune to your smile though," I whispered, distracted still. Thinking about his smile helped me forget the pain. "You should smile more. Or maybe not. It confuses me."

"I'll smile when you're in dry clothes," he replied.

I sighed, then with trembling hands I began to raise the edges of my t-shirt up. Griffin's eyes widened slightly and he looked away, beginning to pull off his jumper.

An uncontrollable laugh bubbled up out of me. "I never imagined undressing with you like this."

I heard him chuckle. "I didn't know you'd ever imagined that at all."

"My t-shirt is off," I whispered, shivers beginning to wrack my body. He finally turned to me and I looked away not meeting his gaze, I was now only in my bikini and shorts.

He passed me his blue hoodie. "Here, put this on."

I pulled it over my head and down to my waist. It was huge.

He looked me up and down then smiled. "Much better."

I continued shivering.

"I'm going to sit behind you okay," Griffin said slowly. "My body heat will keep you warm."

After a few seconds I felt his body settle behind mine, his warmth radiating outward. I leant back into him and sighed. "Why are you here?" I mumbled.

"We met June running past and she told us what happened."

I shook my head, confused. "But why are you here?"

He was silent for a few seconds. "Because I care about you."

I was silent for a few heartbeats, my thoughts too tangled in my brain. "I was trying to stay away from you today."

I felt Griffin grow still behind me. "Why was that princess?"

"You—" I tried turning around in his arms to face him but he held me in place.

"We need to keep your leg still."

I stopped trying to turn. "You confuse me Griffin."

"In what way?"

"I'm not sure." My leg continued to throb. "My leg really hurts. "

"I'd be surprised if it didn't."

I let out a small laugh which turned into more tears. They wracked my body and I felt Griffin wrap his arms tighter around my torso. "I'm sorry princess, I didn't mean to make you cry."

"I don't know why I am." I managed to get out through the sobs.

"Your body is in shock."

He held me in his arms for a few minutes and eventually I calmed down, slowing my breathing to match his own steady breaths. It was then that the situation truly began to hit me. Griffin was here, holding me in his arms and I felt safe.

My heart thudded and a warmth began spreading in my chest.

Maybe it wasn't just a leg injury. Maybe my heart was also experiencing problems.

A tightness spread across my chest.

Was I having a heart attack?

No.

I wasn't in pain, it went deeper than that.

My stomach twisted as a realisation shuddered through me.

I liked being with him like this.

No.

I felt my body tense up.

I couldn't like him. He was still a player. I had seen him kiss Brittney only yesterday. I'd promised myself that I wouldn't fall for him.

"Princess, are you okay?" He must've felt my body shift.

"I don't know why I like you," I whispered so quietly that I wasn't sure if he'd heard.

"You like me?"

I was silent then—

"I've got the towels!" Noah called out, appearing round the corner.

I felt Griffin sigh behind me. Noah bent down and handed a towel to Griffin who wrapped it around my body. "There we go."

"How are you doing Rory?" Noah asked, eyes scanning my face.

I gave him a small smile. "I'll survive."

He smiled. "Glad to hear it, can't have our prank queen dying on us."

"Definitely not," Griffin agreed, his voice had its familiar playfulness back in it. "We've gotta see this war to the finish line."

I shivered. "I will win."

"I'm beginning to think you might, princess. But don't think for one second I'm going to give up."