FIVE days and FOREVER
Copyright 2017/2018
-Anya Amarachi Jacinth
|ft. Falana - Ride or die|
Day One
Day 1
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We stopped just before the water so that when the waves came, it covered our feet.
He closed his eyes as he held his head up.
I watched him throughout.
The angle at which his face was projected in. The way his jaw pointed out. The curve of his nose. His thick lashes. His full beige lips which were left ajar.
Those features drew me in.
He swallowed and I saw the movement of his Adam's apple.
He looked like he was clearing his mind.
Trying to escape.
To forget about things.
As I watched him, he suddenly turned his head to me and his eyes captured mine. I couldn't move them out of his.
They were a dark shade of brown. Deep, yet patient.
His pupils seemed wider than normal.
He finally broke a smile. "Close your eyes and listen to the sound of the ocean."
I did just that and copied his gesture.
I could hear the waves, the splash. The ocean. It spoke.
The ocean's breeze blew my hair back as it hit my skin.
It made me feel alive. Like I was capable of more than I stood. Like I could do better.
"It's calling you, right?" He asked with a chuckle.
I chuckled too but with my eyes still closed as I nodded.
"When the water calls, you don't ignore it. Didn't you learn anything from Moana?"
Now, my laughter reverberated as I looked at him.
"Take your clothes off, let's go in." He said as he removed his shirt then he smirked and looked me over. "Don't worry, I'll close my eyes throughout."
I smirked back, "No need for that," As I took off my shirt too and dropped it on the sand.
His smile widened at my action.
We both undressed until we were in our underwear then he held my hand with a huge smile as he pulled me into the water.
I laughed hard as the wave came and the water covered me up to breast length.
"Why is it so cold?" I asked as the water came back to waist length.
He laughed. "That's the odd nature of the ocean."
We both laughed as we played inside.
We stayed in the water for God knows how long before we retired and sat down on the wet sand.
My hair was soaking wet and I felt refreshed. New.
But sticky.
But then again, I liked it.
"Well, that was fun." I breathed out as I pushed my hair away from my face.
"Yeah," He nodded then looked at me with his smile still intact. "We should do this some other time."
My face blushed as I mimicked his smile.
I looked back ahead at the ocean still with my smile intact.
I decided to close my eyes and feel the ocean's breeze on my skin.
I felt cold but it didn't really matter. The adrenaline of the event covered up for it.
The water still came to our feet as we sat and sometimes, up to our stomach.
When I opened my eyes and turned to look at Dennis, I saw that he was copying my gesture.
I silently watched him for some time before saying, "Can I ask you a question?"
He looked at me with his eyes capturing mine. They left me in a trance.
"Does your dad work in our school?"
He didn't reply immediately. He waited like he wanted me to explain how I knew that information.
"Frank said something about you not wanting to see your dad at school before we left." I reminded him.
He suddenly fixed the dots together and looked to the waters. He picked a stone up and threw it in.
He seemed frustrated.
I placed my palm over his hand to keep him at ease.
The contact became more intense than needed and I withdrew my hand.
He looked at me and I saw a side of him that I didn't like. Hurt.
"Want to talk about it?" I asked softly.
His features immediately relaxed and he looked back to the waters.
His hair was nappy and everywhere - I liked that. His eyes looked focused.
"Remember back when I said that I was suspended from the team?" He asked.
I nodded, trying to link things up.
"I lied." He said then sighed. "I quit."
"Why?" I asked quietly.
I waited for him to go on as he picked another stone and threw it in the water.
"My dad is the coach and he makes it seem like it's mandatory that I be the best. I only joined the team because of the friends I had in there and the joy I get while playing."
Now, I was seeing his point.
"So, what was in that letter the other day?" I decided to ask.
"He wanted to make me the team captain. More like he was forcing me to be it. He pointed out the fact that my older brother was the team captain and the best player and blah, blah, bullshit."
"So you quit because your dad was putting pressure on you than you needed," I said.
He nodded then sighed. "I just wish he could see how happy I am without him pushing me around. I don't want to be known as the coach's son, I want to be known as a member of the team."
I allowed the silence to settle in - harmonized by the ocean's melody - before I finally gave my opinion on his situation. "Maybe you should let your dad in on that. Let him know how you feel about all these."
"I guess I already did that the harsh way yesterday." He said as he threw another stone. "My dad is mad at me for not following his orders and I told him I don't ever want to see him again." He shrugged. "I feel awful-"
"It's not your fault," I allowed him to know that to remove any form of guilt from him.
He looked at me and our eyes held onto each other's.
"Maybe you'd just have to talk with him one on one to let him understand properly. He can't chase you away if you go home to meet him." Then I paused and asked as my brain finally processed. "You stayed at Frank's house last night because you didn't want to see your dad, yes?"
He nodded, a little unhappy with his own actions. He avoided meeting my gaze now.
"What about your mum. Wouldn't she be worried?"
It was now he looked away finally. "My mum passed."
"Oh," I said. "Sorry to hear that."
He shrugged.
I felt compressed in his problems until he looked at me with eyes that suddenly spoke a different emotion.
He looked like he didn't want to be enveloped by his shit. He wanted to be happy. Be free. Forget he has anything to worry about and move on.
He smiled. His smile was gentle.
His eyes spoke it all. He wanted me to move on, too.
He didn't want me stranded with him.
"I don't want you to think too much about this." He said softly, in a low voice.
I nodded absently then gave him a smile of my own to show him that I had moved on as well.
His smile widened at my action.
But I just felt unsettled and wanted him in on something about me as well.
"Well, if it makes things any better, my dad wasn't the best either," I said with a soft smile.
He smiled too and I didn't really take much meaning to it as he scooted next to me.
It felt normal. Perfect even.
We remained silent as we watched the water. Enjoyed the motion of the wave. Enjoyed the sound it made. Enjoyed the smell.
It was so perfect.
I wanted to enter the water again.
"Do you have any stories about the ocean?" I asked in a low voice as I adored the beauty of God's work. Of what nature had to offer.
"Besides Ariel and Flounder?" He chuckled.
I chuckled too then looked at him.
He was handsome in his own way... And I found that way attractive.
Maybe I saw his physical features in a different way now.
His laughter was amazing.
His smile was contagious.
I was falling for every attribute about him - in just one day.
We've literally spent the past 24hours together. Just the both of us.
He looked at me too and his eyes held patience.
It searched my eyes. It rummaged my emotions.
"I know a story," He finally said with his smile creeping in. "Once upon an afternoon, let's say 5:30-ish. Yeah, about then. A creepy stalker girl followed me into a bus-"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I laughed. "That's not even meant to be funny."
"Hey! You don't interrupt the storyteller." He smiled at me, knowing well what he was doing.
"Well, when the storyteller is making false references, I'll have to correct him," I said to him. "I'm not a creepy stalker girl."
He chuckled. "Whatever makes you feel happy." Then he went on with his story. "So this girl got into the wrong bus so she could get stranded with a hot mess like I am and end up at his house."
"Really?" I questioned with a wide smile. "Was the hot mess Zac Efron?"
"No," He raised one of his eyebrows. "It was me."
"Boohoo. The girl must have some awful choices." I jeered.
He smirked. "But the girl just compared me to Zac Efron. Which means she thinks I'm that hot."
My smile increased. "Story moving on," I said, really getting interested in his story. Even though I knew it was just an egoistic description about what went down between the both of us from yesterday till now.
"So, this girl decided to skip school the next day so she could still be with a hot mess like I am."
I scoffed. "Bullshit."
He chuckled, "Allow me." He looked straight into my eyes.
I relaxed because of the softness his own held.
"But guess what?"
He eyes bore deeper into mine. I saw the ecstasy in them.
"What?" My voice was more like a whisper.
"I seemed to enjoy every minute spent with the stalker girl. Even though we just started talking." He said.
There was no way I could hide my smile.
I pursed my lips and looked away as I used a small laugh to cover up.
"I'm hoping we'd get along better and I'd get to know more about her."
I blushed and his smile widened like he was satisfied with his mild confession.
"And she should smile more. Oddly, the hot mess likes her smile on her."
I blushed harder and looked at him as the side of my lips reached under my eyes. "I'm ignoring the fact that you referred to me as a stalker." I chuckled.
He chuckled too but still had his eyes locked on mine.
For a flash of time, my heart stopped functioning the way it should be and I felt like there could actually be a possibility of us being more than just idiots that entered the wrong bus and decided to miss a day of school together.
His eyes quickly skimmed my lips and I parted them on impulse.
I looked down at his own and watched the way he slowly licked his.
I looked back at his eyes which pulled me in.
Even in the cold, I banked on his lips to warm me.
He gently reached for my face to remove the wet hair obstructing my facial features as he brought his face closer.
I closed my eyes and just then, the ocean decided to send it's wave of acknowledgement towards us.
From there, I didn't know what else happened because we were both soaking wet.
We both got up due to the shock and unexpectedness of such a moment.
I coughed and hit my chest but I also found myself laughing in the process.
He did the same.
"What the fuck just happened?" I asked in laughter.
He shook his head. "I have no fucking idea."
I looked at the wave which was now coming calmly.
I glared then gritted through my teeth, "Fucking Moana."