Ripples

"I don't want your ripple to fade tonight"

Water drops leaped into the air as the waves gently sloshed against the pier. The sun had long since vanished, basking the coastline in near darkness, with only the moonlight reflecting onto the ocean. Up the coast, bright LED lights poured through the windows of a freshly painted pole barn. Lucas, Marcus, and Adien stumbled down a gravel trail that bisected the sandy beach. The gravel trail soon turned into a decrepit pier; tied to it was a towering white yacht.

Adien slapped the two on the back, asking, "Are you guys heading over to Cooper's or not?"

"I think I'm gonna call it a night; I've got class at 8 in the morning tomorrow," Marcus responded softly.

"Lucas?"

Lucas raised his head, finally taking his attention away from the splintering wood of the pier, looking at Adien with reddened eyes.

"Nah." Lucas mustered up, pushing back his long hair.

"You guys suckkk; I'll tell Cooper you guys were too busy blowing each other to come over," Adien responded, slapping them on the back once again.

"Screw you too." Marcus joked.

Adien spun around, mimicking finger guns before pulling a flask from his pocket and stumbling down the beach.

Lucas slowly made his way down the pier; Marcus followed behind, keeping his hands stuffed into his pockets. Lucas ran his hand against the cold hull of the yacht, a soft smile manifesting on his face. He continued forward before his collar snagged around his neck. His right foot dangled above the water before his body was jerked backward. Marcus removed his hand from Lucas's shirt, rolling his eyes.

"Lucas, come on, I'll take you home; you're shit-faced," Marcus told him.

"No, no, no, I'm as sober as I've ever been. After four years of constant begging and finally getting to take the yacht for a spin, there is no way I'm passing this by."

"You are drunk off your ass; it's not safe."

"It's better than you driving. You had like, what, five shots? And I didn't actually drink anything, plus what would I do if I was drunk? I'm in the middle of the damn ocean. Do you think I'm gonna hit an iceberg? You think I'll sink like the Titanic?"

Marcus rubbed his temples, placing his hand on Lucas's shoulder, tightening his grip.

"I'm worried about you, man," Marcus mumbled, his lip trembling.

Lucas clamped his mouth closed before turning towards the ocean. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, lowering his chin. His eyes rose and crashed with the waves, watching them slam into the pier and vanish. Marcus joined him, standing beside Lucas. He glanced up at the absent expression on Lucas's face before turning back towards the water.

"Lucas," Marcus spoke with softness.

"Huh?" Lucas responded, fiddling with the inner lining of his pockets.

"Do you ever just sit on the beach in the middle of the night, just staring out at the ocean?"

"Yeah, I guess, sometimes."

With the tip of his shoe, Marcus scraped up chunks of the old wood before gently kicking it into the water.

"Sometimes, I would toss rocks into the water and watch them ripple outwards. I'd watch the waves I had created, some would go farther than others, but the one common thing between them was eventually...they would return back to the sea." Marcus explained.

Lucas raised his head, his eyebrow crawling up his forehead. Marcus pushed his hands deeper into his pockets, peering up at the moon, while Lucas stared at the waves.

"Sometimes, I think that's what we're like. We're thrown into this massive world of people; the sea. We make our ripple on the world, the people we meet, the connections we make, our impact...but eventually we die...but our ripple remains. Some are bigger than others, but when we are truly forgotten, when our impact is long gone. That, that is when our ripple returns back to the sea." Marcus explained, his eyes remaining glued on the moon.

"Why are you telling me this?" Lucas asked, glancing at Marcus.

Marcus turned towards Lucas, finally getting a good look at his face. Tears built in his eyes, Lucas could see his jaw ever so slightly tremble.

"I don't want your ripple to fade tonight," Marcus whispered.

"Marcus, I'm just going on a little boat ride; I'll be back," Lucas responded.

"I'm just worried about you."

"I'll be fine."

"Promise me," Marcus whispered.

"I promise. Just trust me."

"I do."

Lucas nodded, the two turning back towards the sea. They stood in silence for a few moments, listening to the waves crashing against the piers.

"I better get going," Lucas said, turning towards him.

"Yeah," Marcus responded, clamping his lips together.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

Lucas watched Marcus make his way up the dirt trail, disappearing over the hill. Lucas's face was vacant the entire time; all he could feel were the waves crashing against the interior of his skull.