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“See there? That’s Orion’s Belt.” “I know where Orion’s Belt is.” “Just a thought. No need to get testy.” I sighed. I wasn’t being testy, he was being obnoxious. I glanced to him, and he was smiling broadly as usual. His eyes behind his glasses danced with a cocky thrill. I suppose that was what our chats were boiling down to. I crossed my arms and gritted my teeth. “You know, there’s a fire right there if you’re cold.” He said, offering what was a generally good idea. I shrugged. I didn’t really want to warm up by the fire. The brisk wind was cool but refreshing. I stared off into the sea. It was consistent, splashing against the beach 24/7. I loved to watch it, each wave the exact same, yet different. He stepped forward, next to me, staring off into the black sea alongside me. I stepped slightly to my left, giving us just a tad more space. He didn’t seem to mind, just wrapped up in his own thoughts, staring off into the Pacific just as I had been. A glance towards him showed that he was no longer smiling, the fire reflecting off the lenses of his glasses. If I had studied them a bit longer, I might have been able to see my own thin tan face in the glass. He glanced towards me and returned to his standard smile. I turned away, scanning the nearly empty beach for something, anything, to look at. I settled on the fire. The dying fire was quite different from the ocean. It wasn’t very calming to me, the wild and violent flames doing whatever they wanted. They burned and destroyed no rhythm or routine to them, unlike the soothing and routine sea. As I stared into the orange fire, I thought about my tall companion. He was dressed in his classic black jacket, always insisted upon calling it his “Costco Jacket”, his shaggy dark locks blowing ever so slightly in the sea breeze. I knew he liked me. A mutual “friend” of ours, told me the second she heard. Even without gossiping classmates, I would’ve figured it out. The way he acted around me was different from the way he interacted with me. Awkward and uncomfortable, but he passed it off pretty smoothly. He would use any possible opportunity to talk to me, and it was very often pointless small talk. I saw him and his friends glancing towards me, and laughing. Of course, that piece of evidence had seemed rather rude before I put it all together. As I stared off into space, he surprised me with his voice that came seemingly out of nowhere. “Something on your mind?” “Y… Nothing.” Curse my honest soul, almost giving away the entire act. I glanced to my right, where he had been standing, probably for the last while. “Y-nothing huh? Those sound like some pretty interesting thoughts.” He replied unnecessarily. Of course, unnecessarily was practically his middle name. “Yeah, well,” I was having trouble thinking up a clever answer. “What have you been thinking about?” I ended up just changing the subject. He looked at me, knowing exactly what I had just done. “You.” He responded smoothly grinning like a madman. I just about slapped him. But I controlled myself, and looked him dead in the eyes. “And what kind of thoughts were you having about me?” Alright, if he gave the wrong answer, I’d slap him for sure. He turned away from me, looking into the flames. He seemed to like the fire more than I did. “I was just thinking about what you’d remember about me when I’m gone.” He said. Okay, that was a decent answer. No slap for him. I glanced towards the sea, hoping for…. Hoping for what? What could an ocean do for me in this situation? I stared at the waves, washing up against the beach. On impulse, I began to walk to the shore. “Hey wait! Walking away isn’t an answer! Or, I guess it is, but not one I would particularly like to accept.” He called after me. I didn’t respond at first, strolling towards the cold ocean. I heard a loud sigh, and the sound of feet slapping sand. I reached the edge, where the wet sand transitioned right into the dry sand. I bent down and pulled off my shoes and socks. Then I took two more steps. The waves washed right over my feet, nipping at my ankles. He reached the line too, and for a moment, we just stared at each other. I pulled a plastic water bottle out of my jacket pocket, twisted the cap off, poured the water onto the ground, and then tore off the plastic label denoting the bottle as Dasani. He scratched the back of his neck uneasily, and raised an eyebrow. “Uh, what are you doing?” I still didn’t answer, pulling out a sharpie and scribbling something down onto the bottle. I bent down and watched a wave fill the bottle. I felt his eyes on me as I twisted the plastic cap back onto the bottle. I looked at him, and extended the water bottle to him. “You’re going to the east coast right?” I asked him. He hesitantly took the water bottle from my hand as he answered. “Uh, yeah. Suburbs of DC.” “Someday, I expect to have a water bottle, filled with water from the Atlantic, with an answer written with a black sharpie on the bottle.” “I don’t know how many of those requirements I can fulfill…” “Just do it. It doesn’t have to be soon.” “Okay, but you still didn’t answer my question.” I splashed him. “Hey! Now my Mom will be pissed at me for getting my clothes wet.” I walked back to the line, and picked up my shoes again. As I began to walk away, he quickly followed. “Are you like, allergic to answering questions?” He said, and he continued to scramble for an answer all the way until we made it to the fire again. I was getting kind of tired of the ocean now. I sat down in the sand, the sand conforming slightly to my shape. He stood over me, looming almost. He looked at me expectantly, and I looked up into his big dark eyes. “I’m going to remember you as the guy who didn’t splash me back. And a guy who keeps his promises.” I said, looking to the water bottle in his hands. “Hold up, I didn’t promise anything.” He began to protest, but I glared at him, with a wry grin. He shook his head, sighed, and then replied with a grin. “I promise. I’ll get you a water bottle back.” “Dude! We gotta go! Let’s go loverboy!” A voice yelled at us from a distance. I glanced to the point of origin, and saw his ride. He looked to me, then began to jog away. “I’m coming! I swear you are the most impatient person on the planet.” He called back to his friends. I looked back to the warmth of the orange flames. Then I heard the footsteps stop. “Hey!” I turned back around to where he had been going. “You’re beautiful and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!” He yelled. I turned back around quickly to hide my blushing face. That was sweet. But I wouldn’t take him seriously until I received that water bottle. ~~~~~~ Alright, so this started as the middle of a piece of writing I'm doing for class, but I like the way it came out of my brain, so it's now the beginning of an entirely different story. Of course, that transition means a few details aren't there when they would've been otherwise. I hope you enjoy the first part of this story about our two characters on the beach. -Yuffie