Calum stepped over to Ashton, slinging his arm over him.
"Before we say anything, how about we talk about what the four of us are doing tomorrow?" Calum said as he led Ashton to a chair and sat him down.
"Oh, yeah! I needed to talk to you about tonight and tomorrow," Ashton began, completely forgetting about wanting an explanation from the three of us. He began going off about how he planned for us to eat at a restaurant by the beach, and Calum was just nodding along. Then the two got into plans of tomorrow, how they wanted to explore the city and maybe check out the beach, depending on the weather.
Luke sat on Calum's bed, watching the two. He'd occasionally pitch in and start throwing some ideas, and the two would agree. I, however, managed to sneak back out onto the balcony unnoticed.
I just really like standing out here and looking out at the city. It puts me into such a calm mood. The sound of cars from below, occasional sirens that happened now and then, it was all so peaceful.
I'm not sure what time it is now, but the day was slowly turning into night. And since there were a lot of clouds in the sky, it was darker than usual.
I heard a rumbling sound and it was very closeby.
There really was a storm coming.
I gulped, because I knew I wouldn't find comfort tonight. There are times where I'd have to go through the storm alone, but most of the time I wouldn't. Ashton checks the weather forecast and whenever he suspects a storm to happen in the evening he comes over to my place and sleeps over. He and I would cuddle close together on my bed, because it helped me through the thunderstorm.
But due to this stupid buddy thing I don't think Ashton will be there, lying in the same bed as I.
I'll be going through it alone.
The thought of being by myself terrified me. I don't know what it was about storms. It's probably whenever thunder cracked through the sky it'd scare me. It'd happen randomly and it'd always catch me by surprise. I didn't like that.
I don't want to be scared, but I can't help it.
Another thunder clap happened and this time it was a bit louder. I didn't want to be by myself if it came back again, so I went inside the room.
The guys were still talking about plans, and I didn't know how to join in the conversation, so I just lied down on Ashton's bed.
"We will definitely check out the beach!" Calum exclaimed as I turned my head to look at him. "I want to go swimming!"
"Then we could probably go and buy some souvenirs," Ashton suggested, "so we can remember this trip."
"Those aren't such bad ideas," Luke said.
"They're pretty good ideas, what are you talking about, Lucas?"
"Yeah, Lukey!" Then Calum faced me. "What do you think, Mikey?" I really wasn't expecting him to call me out. Now all three pairs of eyes were on me.
"Uh..." I glanced over at Luke and he had a look on his face that, for once, wasn't filled with hatred towards me. It was more like he was actually curious as to what I had to say. "They're all nice ideas..."
"Anything you want to add?"
"Not really, no."
"We should do this more often," Ashton began, "go on trips, I mean. How about over the summer we do this again?"
"I'm already excited, and this one hasn't even ended yet!" Calum cheered as he began jumping all over the place.
"What time is it now?" Luke asked. "I'm already starving." Ashton grabbed his phone that was lying on the table beside him.
"It's almost four," he answered. "Want to check out the beach now? The restaurant we're going to eat at is literally next to the beach. We're not going to swim, though. We'll just take a nice stroll, maybe find some seashells."
"Yay! More souvenirs!" Calum ran up to me and grabbed my hands. "Let's go! You'll be my seashell buddy!"
"Wha- okay." I didn't have time to say anything before he yanked me up and led me out of the room before releasing my hand. Because I got up too fast my vision was starting to go black and I was feeling a bit dizzy. I nearly fell backwards before I felt myself fall into someone's arms.
"Watch it," said the person who caught me as my vision was slowly coming back. "I don't want to fall with you."
Just hearing the sound of Luke's voice made my heart race, and I looked up at him to see him staring back at me. He pushed me forward a bit so I was back onto my feet, but I was frozen in place as I kept my eyes on Luke. He rolled his eyes, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and walked ahead of me.
I could still feel his arms wrapped around me, and I may or may not be wishing that they stayed longer.
"Hurry, Mikey, or you'll be left behind!" Ashton exclaimed as he tugged on my shirt and pulled me forward.
------
It took us five minutes by car to get to the beach. On our way there I'd hear the thunder and I'd pull my legs close to my chest, tellin myself it's okay. Again, Ashton was driving, so he couldn't exactly be there for me. He'd glance over at me and worry his lower lip.
Calum didn't seem to notice, and Luke simply didn't care. He was too busy looking out the window.
Even though I'm sitting in the passenger seat I used the side mirrors to steal glanced at him. It'd be awkward looking at him directly. Plus, he'd be annoyed if I did look at him, so the mirror was the safest option.
There weren't any people at the beach, which pretty much meant we had the entire place to ourselves. It was really windy and my bangs kept going over my eyes. Calum was already scurrying towards the water and kneeling down, digging through the sand.
"Come on, Mikey! Help me find some seashells!" Calum shouted, waving at me. I didn't exactly plan on helping. I'll probably just watch as he searches.
I walked over to him and I bent my knees next to him. Calum found a seashell that he wasn't pleased with, so he threw it into the water. I glanced over at where Ashton was and he was walking along the beach with Luke. I wonder what they're talking about.
Wait, no I don't. Why does it matter what they're talking about? It's their business, not mine.
Then I felt Calum chuck something at my shoulder, and I winced. I looked down at what he threw at me, and I looked down to see what it was.
He threw a broken sandal at me.
I glared up at him and he just shrugged. "I found it, and now I'm giving it to you," he said.
"I don't want it," I told him.
"Picky with your gifts, aren't you?" I shook my head and stood up. "Where're you going?"
"Nowhere. I'm just standing up." Calum eyed me before he started crawling over to a different spot to search there instead. I stared at the waves as they slid over the wet sand before pulling back into the ocean.
I don't have any good experiences of being at the beach. I do recall when I was little I went to the beach with Ashton and his family. He and I would stand near the waters and we'd run away from the waves as they came onto shore. At one point we actually went into the water, but then water went into my eyes and I couldn't see anything. The next thing I knew I was being swept away into the sea and I was being pulled underwater.
That was probably the last time I ever went swimming.
Now whenever I go to the beach I watch everyone enjoy themselves. I just sit on a towel and relax, and it's not that bad. To me, it's better than splashing around in the water.
I heard thunder again, and I grabbed a handful of my shirt nervously. I was not ready for tonight at all.
"You suck," Calum deadpanned.
I looked at him with a bemused look. "What?"
"You suck at helping me find seashells. Ashton's better. ASHTON!" I glanced over at where he was and saw that he and Luke were just standing a little ways from us. Their heads turned to us and Calum stood up. "Help me! Mikey sucks!"
"I'll be right over!" Ashton called back before turning to Luke, saying a few more words to him before running over to Calum and bending down next to him. "What do you want?"
"Seashells are what I want."
"Are you serious?"
"I'm Calum."
Even though my eyes were on the two, I could see Luke coming over to us. I moved my eyes over to him and saw him run his fingers through his hair as he looked out into the water.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but from this angle he looks kind of... hot. And that's coming from a straight guy.
Well, I'm pretty sure I'm straight.
Damn it, I don't know anything anymore.
Luke finally got to us and he leaned over to see what Calum and Ashton were doing. "Really? You're looking for shells?"
"We're not leaving the beach until I find a good seashell." Luke then stood up straighter and walked off. I watched as he walked towards the opposite direction he came from. "Mikey, stop being a lazy ass and help me find a seashell."
"Why are you so determined to find a seashell?" I asked.
"Why not? I really want a seashell. Is that bad?" I shrugged and bent down. "No, go to Luke. You're horrible at finding seashells."
"Why the hell would you ask me to help then?" Calum ignored my question and I glanced over at Luke. He was nearby a bunch of large rocks and he was leaning over, his back towards me. Well, more like his bum, but whatever.
Every step I took closer to him I could feel my chest pounding. I slowly went over to him and he didn't seem to notice that I was behind him. I cleared my throat and then he turned around, groaning.
"Why are you here?" he asked as he returned to what he was doing before. He's obviously annoyed of my presense.
"Calum told me to come here," I answered.
"I don't need your help. Go away." As much as I'd like to do that, my feet stayed glued to where I stood. Luke noticed that I wasn't leaving and he turned to me and walked over. "Okay, do you want me to make you leave?"
"Calum's just going to send me back here." Luke let out an exasperated sigh before staring down at the ground.
"Whatever," was all he said as he turned away. I didn't know where to look, so I just watched Luke. Then he began walking away, and I didn't know what to do. He twisted around and shot me a glare. "Are you coming with or what?"
"To where?" I questioned.
"We're walking. Maybe we'll actually find something lying around." I hesitated at first, but then nodded before going after him. Once I caught up we began walking.
Luke and I kept our eyes on the ground, but for different reasons. He was looking for seashells and I just wanted to avoid eye contact with him. I guess I'm sort of looking for seashells, but they're the least of my concern.
"Hey, there's one here," Luke said, earning my attention. I glanced over at him and saw him pick up half a mollusc shell. Then my eyes wandered over to something shining in the distance. I approached it and saw a white seashell. I picked it up and examined it.
It was beautiful, the shell. It was in a shape of a cone, and the surface of the shell made it look spiraled, kind of like the swirl of an ice cream.
"Whatchu got there?" Luke asked from behind me, his head right over my shoulder. He looked down at the shell in my hands. "Whoa, that's cool." His arms went around me and he placed his hands over mine.
At this point my heart was going as fast as the speed of light. Luke picked the shell from my hold and brought it up to his face.
"This is an amazing one," he commented. "You've got a good eye."
I could feel butterflies in my stomach, although I don't want them to be there.
I tensed when I heard thunder rolling. It was coming closer, and I didn't like it. Of all the days there could've been a thunderstorm, why did it have to be this one?
Luke must've noticed that I stiffened, because then he pulled away and cursed, "Don't fucking touch me, you freak."
"Hey, you were the one who started it!" I snapped back. He just huffed and rolled his eyes.
"Whatever, let's just get this to Calum." Luke then began going the way where we came from, not even waiting for me. I didn't move for a bit, because I was feeling a mixture of two emotions: anger, because he accused me of touching him, and saudade, because I missed the feeling of being held in his arms.
Why? Why do I feel this way?
I didn't start walking until Luke was a couple of metres ahead of me. He didn't even turn his head to look at me, and I kind of wish he did.
I saw Luke hand Calum something, most likely the seashell that I found. He probably took credit for it, because then Calum threw his arms around Luke, giving him a tight embrace, and Luke returned it.
My chest may or may not have hurt from that sight.
Then Calum ran up to me with a gleeful smile on his face. "Isn't this seashell amazing?" he exclaimed as he brought the shell up to my face.
I was going to say it was, but then I realized that it wasn't the seashell I found.
It was the mollusc one. The one Luke found.
"This is going to be in my room forever!" Calum then let out a squeal that was unmanly in every single way and he skipped over to Ashton.
I caught Luke looking at me and I froze under his stare. Then he started making his way over to me, and I was mentally freaking out, because I wasn't prepared for him to come over to me.
Then he was literally an inch in front of me before he leaned his head in so his face was right next to my ear.
"I believe this is yours," he whispered, taking my hand into his and placing something in them. Then he pulled away and walked off, his touch still lingering on my hands. I looked down at what he put in them.
The beautiful white, spiraled seashell. The one that I found.