New story I'm working on! Super excited to be back and working on something fun! :-)

Editing this in to let new readers know: I wrote a prequel short that goes before this story. You do NOT need to read it before reading Hook but you might enjoy it. :-) It's already finished so no waiting time for updates either. It's called The Professor and the Siren; I included the link to the story but you can obviously also find it on my profile.

Much love,

Robin

*

The Dare

"So Dani as the new girl in town you've got something to prove haven't you? Especially if you want to fit in!" said Jamie gloatingly. Dressed in designer jeans and a silky blouse she was the front-woman for fashion here at small town Coningsby's public high school. She was also spokeswoman for the majority of people in my class and she'd taken a dislike to me the moment we met, I had no idea why.

Since I was eating lunch by myself seated on the lawn and Jamie was wearing several inches extra worth of high heels I had to crane my neck to meet her eyes. She was smirking with well-shaped lips and had one hand elegantly braced on a cocked hip. "So I've got just the thing, you willing to even try?"

I'd moved to Coningsby with my dad two weeks prior and though I was eighteen and should technically be starting uni, I was redoing my last year of high school. It, more than Jamie's dislike of me, made me stand out and not in a good way. A year older than my classmates, and having been away from school for almost a year before that, I found it hard to fit in.

To act like everyone else, to find the same things interesting, and to care about the things they cared about... It was all a little lame after a year spend nursing my terminally ill mother and then several months of grief counseling while my dad took me with him for his job all over the world. With those experiences under my belt, caring about what this or that celebrity was up to, or who this or that classmate had been seen making out with... Really hard to do, didn't even want to try really.

But that had left me isolated and I was lonely, so instead of sending Jamie packing the way I should have I shrugged. "What are you talking about?" She smiled immediately in response and then turned to look first at the three girls on her left, her usual group of friends, then she looked at the several boys on her right who'd apparently been interested enough to follow her to me.

"Well, there's this thing everyone who lives here does once in their life... If you're living in Coningsby you have to do it too," Jamie said. "Yeah!" Jamie's best friend Layla said, "We've all done it!"

Feeling uncomfortable under the scrutiny and excited head bobbing from the girls I climbed to my feet and dusted off the seat of my shorts. "Okay, what have you all done?" If they'd all done it it couldn't be dangerous and if it was I'd just fake having done it if that's what it took to at least get some respect.

More likely this was bogus and they'd all be laughing at my expense if I fell for their prank. The fact that not all of the guys seemed to be knowing what Jamie was talking about was a big clue as to this not being an 'everyone has done it!' kind of thing.

"So I'm sure you've seen it, Sharkfell Island, big gloomy volcanic island off the coast, shark infested waters and reefs that will strand boats and ships alike all around it." Jamie gestured vaguely in the direction of the coast a few kilometers away.

"Not Sharkfell! That place is dangerous," one of the boys said sharply, "Jamie cut it out." The guy was in several of my classes and cute, with a fantastic swimmers body, dark brown eyes and curly hair. I knew his name was Devon McLaren and I knew that everyone just called him Dev, he was also pretty much dream guy for most of the girls in my year. He seemed nice but we'd never even spoken and it was a surprise to hear him speak out now.

"Oh shush Dev," Jamie said, "It's a harmless challenge, all Dani here has to do is take a boat out to Sharkfell and walk inland to that old big tree there and touch it's trunk. We've all done that right girls?" she looked at the girls gathered behind her, who all nodded. "We'll even come on the boat with her, perfectly safe."

"The hell it is, Sharkfell's not a safe place to be," Dev argued angrily. With his best friend and near constant shadow Mitchell pitching in, "Dev's right. There's lots of predators on the island too and even some real nasty bugs. No one should be wandering around on Sharkfell."

"Well?" Jamie ignored the boys and turned to me, "Are you up for it? Willing to prove you're one of us?" Put on the spot like that I didn't know how to respond, Sharkfell did indeed sound really dangerous but with a bit of research I could probably find out exactly what to expect there. Instead of some rumors about creatures or bugs and sharks. And I'd already heard that the reefs around Sharkfell were like a crescent moon, one side of the island was safe for boat travel.

"Its private property," Dev said heatedly, "If you girls head there it's trespassing, you know that right?" "Yeah," Layla said, rolling her eyes, "It's owned by some silly charity but we all know there's a pretty awesome guest house on the island and it's always empty. No one's going to be bothered by us visiting Sharkfell." "Why do you care anyway?" Jamie added, spinning to pin Dev with an annoyed look.

"I don't," he responded, shrugging he spun around, "Come on guys. I've had enough of this," the boys all followed Dev and Mitchell as they stalked away. I could tell that Jamie seemed a little stunned by Dev's sudden dismissal but she still didn't have what she wanted, my consent on going to Sharkfell with them. I'd already figured out that the main goal was in fact stranding me on the island, what with her and the girls accompanying me there.

Obviously I had to say no which was why of course the moment Jamie focused on me I said: "Sure I'll do it. After school today?" Surely I could outsmart them somehow and seem really cool when I turned up in school tomorrow right as rain and pretended nothing had happened. I had my phone on me, if I made sure I had someone to pick me up again on standby...

"Sounds good, we'll meet you at the pier," Jamie answered and before waiting for my reply she spun around and hurried off. All of the girls, and the group had grown to twice its size, followed Jamie but shot me various looks, gloating, pity, laughter. I wasn't sure if they all understood I was going to be pranked viciously by Jamie or if they liked that or not but I didn't care. I had my own plan.

For that I had only a short time so I abandoned my thoughts of doing my homework in my free period and instead went to the library. On the old computers there I looked up Sharkfell Island and quickly found out that there were no killer bugs I needed to worry about and no predators that could be dangerous to me. Dev had clearly been trying to scare us not to go there but it hadn't been founded in truth.

Something else interesting I learned about Sharkfell Island was that it was indeed owned by a foundation that focused in preserving its reefs and flora and fauna. The bare minimum website the foundation had, indicated the island was not open to the public and listed very little information on who was behind it all. A search on the domain name of the website listed an owner however and it was a name I knew: McLaren. It seemed too much of a coincidence for that not to be Dev's family.

During my last class that day I noticed how there was a lot of giggling and chatter going on among the girls and Dev, who was in this class with me seemed really angry and angrier by the minute. If the island was indeed owned by his family, he had a right to be pissed about trespassers, he also had a right to tell us off on those grounds but he hadn't. Where I'd been dreading this entire trip to Sharkfell before, regretting every minute that I'd said yes, now I was suddenly extremely intrigued.

I used my phone to find the different companies that rented out boats down the coast and while I walked, by myself, to the pier after school I called several of them until I found one that was willing to pick me up from Sharkfell when I called. For a price, an expensive one, but I figured it was worth it to not be stranded there.

Once on the pier I realized the girls from school weren't there yet and I didn't see them in the marina to the left either. Nor on any of the terraces of the small cafes and bars that lined the boardwalk here. I did however spot Dev talking animatedly with a guy in wet suit shorts who was busy with what appeared a large kite and surfboard. They were down on the beach on the right of the pier and as I watched I noted more and more the similarities between the two of them.

Dev was tall and muscled but swimmer trim and sported a nice tan beneath his black hair, he appeared to lack almost all body hair. This guy was built sleek and muscled along the same line but was a little taller and a little wider in the shoulders. Even from this distance I could see he had an intricate tattoo covering his entire right arm and a portion of his pec and shoulder.

His hair was equally as black as Dev's but slightly longer, hanging down to his shoulders and when I saw his profile I thought his facial features were similar to Dev's too. The guy could only be Dev's older brother.

They both suddenly turned and looked at me and I blushed since I'd been caught staring and tentatively raised my hand to wave at them. Dev immediately started walking in my direction and his brother took one look at the kite he'd been unfolding and then tossed it to the ground and jogged after Dev.

From the front Dev's brother was much more impressive than Dev was, this guy was sporting one hell of a six pack; eight pack but who was counting? Wearing only the wet suit shorts that molded after his body he looked sexy as hell and those tattoos tipped him right into bad boy territory. Then when they got closer I realized Dev's brother had to be in his mid-twenties and would therefore be much too old for me. Though he was one hell of an attractive guy. Handsome to a fault and much more angled and dangerous looking than Dev, there was nothing soft about him.

I was halfway down the pier, still over the beach and Dev stopped right in front of me, "Hey Dani! What are you doing here? Don't tell me you're waiting for Jamie..." He knew very well that's who I was waiting for and I just shrugged, trying to keep myself from looking too long at the guy standing next to Dev.

"You are aren't you?" he said and it sounded accusing, the guy beside him was frowning and now folded his arms over his chest. "What if I am?" I forced myself to respond calmly though I didn't really want to upset Dev. He seemed the only really interesting person at school after all.

"You can't, it's trespassing to go to Sharkfell and its dangerous too. There's a reason it's closed to the public," the guy in the wet suit rumbled angrily. Now I did have an excuse to look at him and I noted that from here I could see that his eyes were even darker than Dev's especially under the expressive black slashes that were his brows. The tattoos were in gray scale, stylized waves and curls. I saw what looked like a Kraken tearing a ship apart. Certainly a cheerful image.

"Who's your friend Dev? Seems real nice..." I said and enjoyed the annoyance on the guys face as he glared at me. Dev however seemed to recall his manners and gestured at the guy, "Matt my brother, Matt this is Dani she's that new girl in my class I mentioned remember?"

"You may have said her name once or twice..." Matt acknowledged, "Just because you're new doesn't mean you can get away with things like this!" "And it's none of your business is it?" I shot back, "If I want to risk going there on a dare then it's all up to me. Unless of course you have actual authority to stop me?" I was baiting them, I knew I was and judging by the way Matt had narrowed his eyes he sensed I was drawing him out on purpose.

If they were the McLaren's that owned the foundation that controlled Sharkfell they had the authority to put a stop to this. But I had the feeling they didn't want people to know they owned the place so they wouldn't, just resort to scare tactics and threats to keep people away. And if they really didn't own the place, they really couldn't stop this at all.

"You know this is a prank right?" Dev said before Matt could respond to my taunt. "Jamie is a bitch, she's going to do something to you." I shrugged again, "I know, I'm prepared. I'm not going to let her get away with it. Did my research, funny things you can find out about Sharkfell when you know your way on the internet..." I grinned at Matt, who seemed much more sensitive to my taunts than Dev.

He had in fact stiffened, his shoulders back, almost the human equivalent of a dog raising its hackles. "What are you talking about?" he asked, his voice had dropped and gotten a very growly edge to it that raised the fine hairs on the back of my neck and had my heartbeat speed up. It was a struggle not to cave and back away suddenly and I hated the primal response with a vengeance. "Look, you're not going to change my mind unless you come with a really good reason why I can't do this. Besides, you should be changing Jamie's mind not mine... I can't afford to look weak in her eyes."

Whatever response that might have evoked from the two guys I'd never know, our conversation was interrupted by Jamie showing up at that moment. She came jogging up the pier and was calling out my name and I flat out just turned my back on Dev and his brother to greet her. Jamie was alone but she hooked her arm through mine and pointed at the water to indicate the small boat speeding towards the pier from the marina.

She never looked over the edge and thus never saw the two McLaren's and to my surprise neither guy called out to her either. Possibly because they knew that changing Jamie's mind would be impossible, especially since she wouldn't be required to set foot on the island.

It was only when Jamie and I had reached the end of the pier that she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh look Matt! Isn't he the sexiest man alive?" I turned to see where she was pointing and saw that he had gone back to his kite and now had it in the air and was wading into the water to get on his board, looking both calm and very confident doing it.

Of Dev there was no sign and we spend the last few minutes waiting for the boat to reach the pier staring at Matt McLaren expertly riding the waves and doing jumps with his board and kite. He wasn't the only guy out on the beach kitesurfing or surfing but he was definitely the one managing the most tricks and drawing the most eyes. I concurred quietly with Jamie that Matt was indeed the sexiest man alive.

There were three more girls in the boat when it arrived, a small motor powered thing that had more horsepower than it needed. It was Layla at the helm and all three of them greeted me so cheerily that I was instantly more suspicious. One of the girls helped me aboard and for a moment I thought they'd just toss me in the water but we were pretty out of sight and it seemed a rather lame thing to do, even for them.

Then we were on our way to Sharkfell, which turned out to take about half an hour. They spend that time questioning me, the way I'd have expected them to do if they really wanted to get to know me. Asking me about why I'd moved here, what my dad did, what I wanted to study later, what I enjoyed doing. When I said I liked making jewelry they even seemed genuinely interested and at that point I almost started doubting that they planned to strand me on Sharkfell.

Once we reached the island Jamie and Layla stayed inside the small boat but the other two jumped out to pull it onto the beach. I helped but when I reached back into the boat to grab my backpack with school stuff Jamie stopped me. "Leave it here, it's just dead weight anyway. You head inland through there, see that opening between the rocks there?" she pointed and when I nodded gave me a little push away from the boat. "We'll wait right here, all you have to do is walk inland and find the big tree, you should spot it immediately."

Glancing once at my bag, held hostage in the boat I nodded and faked a friendly smile for the four seventeen year olds. "Sure, just touch the bark and then come back again right? No need to carve my initials in it or something like that?" The girls all shook their heads, "Just be careful Dani, there's creepy things out there..."

Another look at my bag, this time it was noted by all four girls that I did so, I bit my lip, smiled again and then started off towards the rocks they'd indicated at a jog. My sandals in my hand until I reached the rocks, there I sat down and demonstratively put them back on my feet. They were still on the beach but now all four of them were out of the boat, standing around it. When they saw me look they smiled, waved and gestured at me to move on.

Sandals fastened I darted between the rocks with a final wave at them and ducked out of sight. I waited all of a minute before risking a glance over the rocks and was already awarded with the sight of the four of them pushing the boat back into deeper water and jumping in. They showed real dedication by using the paddles to get further offshore, instead of starting the engine but then they probably didn't want to tip me off yet.

Fishing my phone out of the waistband of my shorts I checked the time while I waited. They'd not started the engine yet but they were far enough away from the beach to make it impossible for me to catch up with them if I had to swim after them. Did they hope to see me attempt it? Even from this distance I could see they had their phones out and were watching the shore for a sign of me. Oh yeah, I had to give it to them, that would be a perfect way to make me the laughingstock of school. Too bad it wasn't going to happen.

Once about ten minutes had passed I figured it had been long enough to be believable that I'd searched for their tree. Since I highly doubted such a tree was there, recognizable enough to find it quickly, I hadn't had the slightest intention of looking even a little. I stood, snapped a few pictures of them and then stepped around the rocks back onto the beach.

With a beatific smile I strolled down it and waved casually at the girls in the boat. They were pointing at me and laughing and I thought Jamie even shouted something but the wind and the noise of the surf made it hard to hear. On impulse I raised my phone and dialed her number, laughing at the surprised look on her face when her phone rang. Obviously they thought my phone had been in my bag and I'd have no means to get off island on my own without their help.

Jamie answered after the third ring and some angry gesturing at the girls in the boat with her. "Hey Dani," she said sounding pleasant and I responded in similar vein to her, still waving at them from the beach. "What do you want?" Jamie then shot at me, sounding a lot more impatient.

I shrugged, "Nothing, just give me back my bag tomorrow at school yeah? There's some things in there I need." "Oh no don't worry, you'll have it back tomorrow, if you make it off Sharkfell... Unless you want us to come back for you? Something might be arranged." Jamie was back to sounding gloating, now clearly thinking she had something over me after all.