lost ~ the gone series

six

The four of them had switched to walking down Ocean Boulevard, to be farther away from the commotion of the plaza. Mila had argued at first, saying they needed to be there if something else happened, but she gave it up in order to prove her theory. That the rest of the world had disappeared.

She had no idea what had happened to cause the poof, or whatever it was called. All she knew was that she wasn't surprised. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation of last night, or the stress of the day's events, but all Mila wanted to do was sleep. She would figure things out tomorrow. That's what she told herself, but she questioned if it was actually true.

"Where are the waves?" Sam turned to the beach. The town beach lay perfectly undisturbed, the golden sand and the crystal waves meeting each other without overlapping.

"There's no wind." Quinn held up his finger. "No wind means no waves."

"It's a beach, there's always wind. And waves. Without waves it's just a lake." Sam put his hands in his pockets and shivered.

Mila grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the sand. "Come on, we're almost there."

Sam reluctantly followed, putting the Pacific out of his sight, like it almost made him sad to look at it.

"We should have brought bikes or something." Aspen groaned, lagging behind the others.

"Or cars," Quinn added.

"Good luck trying to learn how to drive a car." Mila laughed. It was funny to imagine fourteen year-olds behind the wheels of SUVs. But just today, a fourteen year-old went into a burning building trying to save a little girl.

Quinn shrugged. "I could probably do it. You know, if I had to."

"Yeah, if someone was chasing you and you wanted to start a car chase." Sam laughed.

"Like in the movies." Quinn said proudly.

"I feel like we're in a movie right now." Aspen rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, a horror movie," Sam said.

"No, a mystery, because I'm so confused." Quinn countered.

"You're always confused." Mila laughed.

Quinn opened his mouth, about to argue, but decided he couldn't.

"More like a disaster movie." Aspen said quietly.

Quinn paused to let Aspen catch up with him. "Well, that puts a real damper on the mood." He put his arm around Aspen, but she shrugged it off.

"At this point, it's more like a romance." Mila smiled, making Aspen blush.

"Like you've never had romance in your life, Mila!" Quinn accused. 

"Shut up, Quinn." Aspen whispered. But he had a point- Mila had never kissed anyone, and she had only been on a date once- with Quinn himself. She had been asked a few more times, by people she didn't remember now, but she hadn't said yes to any of them. A relationship seemed pointless to her when she was younger, and as she got older she just hadn't gotten asked as often.

But her relationship with Quinn was quick. After their one date at the movies, they both decided against a second date. It was a mutual thing, so why did Quinn sound like he was accusing her?

"In our current situation, if all you're thinking of is romance, I'm starting to think you have bigger problems." Mila sighed and turned away, walking ahead of Sam now, ahead of everyone. Maybe if she walked fast enough, she could get ahead of her problems.

What problems, though? Sure, she missed having a parent to take care of her, but it wasn't anything she couldn't do herself. Her problems were starting to become less needy and more serious.