Summer Fling Series: An Overture
Premise: Four gal pals return from an exhausting year away at college to their small hometown by the sea for summer break. While balancing their respective part-time jobs and casual social lives, each is met with the prospect of blooming romance… or are they mere summer flings?
Annie works at her father's ice cream shop to thwart boredom and satisfy her insatiable sweet-tooth... but ends up catching the eye of the new lifeguard.
Ymir only looks out for number one, until she meets a guy who can actually keep up with her. She's just as surprised as her friends are.
Mikasa enjoys working at the local beach club because it allows her to meet visitors and tourists from all sorts of places. But one stranger in particular makes a deeper, more intimate impression on her than she realizes.
Pieck is everyone's favorite lazy goofball. Well, almost everyone… her co-worker at the local surf shop thinks otherwise. But damn, she's starting to grow on him…
A/N: So this is a new project of mine for the summer of 2017! This series will consist of chronological one-shots centered on the main characters and their love interests. Each little ficlet will be written from their point of view throughout the duration of their summer break; separated into the months of June, July, and August. It's meant to be a short series just for summer fun!
Read and Enjoy!
Waves crash against the white sand embellishing the shore, and then retreat back to sea.
The temperature soars into the mid-eighties as the sun reaches the highest point in the sky.
A pair of striped beach umbrellas offer four beach-goers shade from the sweltering heat, each sipping on fresh lemonade while clad in their favorite bikinis.
Annie and Mikasa share the space under one umbrella, helping one another lather on a few layers of sunscreen. A couple of kites lay at their feet, though the opportunity for flight has yet to present itself.
Pieck and Ymir occupy an adjacent umbrella, studying their tan-lines in search of a noticeable difference in comparison to their natural complexion. Pieck yawns somewhat in discouragement when she realizes she'll never catch up to Ymir's golden tone.
The group of four have been friends since their early grade school days in the small seaside town of Stohess Beach. Shortly following high school graduation, they'd temporarily gone their separate ways to college, only to return to their hometown for summer break.
After a grueling long year of studying massive textbooks, whipping up innumerable essays, and battling the urge to fall asleep in crowded lecture halls, reuniting has never felt so good!
And now, they get to spend the next three months going on crafty little adventures, staying up as late as they want, and lounging around at the beach for casual summer fun.
The essential girl-time is a much-needed break from the demands of impending adulthood and other tedious obligations.
Still, they can't entirely shirk their responsibilities, therefore making it necessary for them to take on part-time jobs.
Annie had looked into applying at a local boutique, but had ultimately been coaxed into working at her father's ice cream shop for the seasonal break. She figures she could sneakily sample the occasional spoonful of her family's recipe if she gets really bored.
Ymir had accepted a job as a lifeguard, impressing the employed staff with her remarkable athleticism in the water. She's glad most of her summer will be spent at the beach. Time well spent, indeed.
Mikasa looks forward to start her first shift at the Stohess Beach Club. Though the job description was vague on paper, she's been told by former employees that it'll keep her busy for the high season.
Pieck's job at the surf shop is certainly fitting of her character. The setting is relaxed, laid-back, and unintentionally encourages her lazy habits. She's capable of getting the work done exceedingly well- only at a snail's pace, however. Still, the manager loves her for reasons beyond her own understanding, and she's quite popular with tourists and regulars alike, so it all works out.
Sweet, sweet summer.
Suddenly, the breeze picks up and circulates into blustery winds.
Figuring that's a good enough cue, Mikasa reaches for the kites and hands one over to Annie.
"Perfect timing," she says, finding solace in the consistency of the strong gusts. "Ready?"
Annie nods and stands to her feet, throwing a light t-shirt on before scouting out the perfect spot to fly their kites.
"Have fun, you two," Ymir chuckles, earning smirks from the blonde and raven-haired duo. She then shifts from her lazy lounging position to sitting upright, throwing her favorite pair of shades on to block out the brightness of the midday glow.
Pieck wakes herself up from a mini cat-nap, shielding her eyes from the sun. She stretches out multiple limbs before sitting up and taking a hefty gulp of her lemonade.
"Are you excited to start work tomorrow?" she yawns, smoothing over a few crinkles in her beach towel.
Ymir flips up her shades, looking over at Pieck with a contemplative expression.
With a nod she replies, "I guess. I don't expect anything too dramatic to happen on my first day... but then again tomorrow's Friday, which means lots of families and lots of little punk ass kids."
Pieck smiles, finishing off her lemonade. "Maybe I'll come visit you." To nap on the beach, more or less.
"And I'll be sure to stop by the surf shop on your first day," Ymir offers, reciprocating the gesture. She reaches behind her to adjust the umbrella, ensuring Pieck won't get a sunburn from the overexposure. Poor thing just can't tan as easily as her.
"Bring me food if you can," Pieck murmurs, drifting off into another slumber.
Not too far off in the distance, Annie and Mikasa are holding a conversation of their own, keeping their eyes locked on their respective kites high above.
"So you're telling me there was no one?" Annie asks, slightly incredulous. "Not even anyone to casually mess around with?"
Mikasa mulls over the past year; her second year away at college. Although the guy-to-girl ratio is practically 2:1 at Trost University, there simply aren't any guys she's even half-interested in dating. And, that doesn't strike her as a bad thing. She prides herself in being patient and reasonable.
Annie thinks she's just too picky.
"Nope," comes Mikasa's nonchalant response. "Not a single person."
Annie sighs. "Either your standards are just way too extreme or you're closing yourself off from others out of fear of getting attached."
Mikasa shrugs, watching as her kite ascends higher still. "Neither. I'm only waiting for the right one to come along."
Annie scoffs at that. "Well it doesn't help if you're not actively looking."
Mikasa wipes a single bead of sweat from her brow and quickly reverses the question. "What about you, Annie? Still seeing that one guy from your psych class?"
Shit. Annie shakes her head. "He wanted to take a break, whereas I decided it was time to end it for good. The relationship was going nowhere."
"That sucks," Mikasa consoles her. "But to be honest, I always thought you deserved better anyway."
"My dad tells me the same thing all the time," Annie mutters. "I could tell he never really liked Jean."
Mikasa frowns upon seeing Annie's disheartened expression. Placing a hand on the petite blonde's shoulder, she's about to say something when Ymir and Pieck suddenly approach them.
"Hey Annie," Ymir calls out, "think your dad would give us free ice cream?"
"I've been craving Rocky Road all day," Pieck adds, lost in her mouthwatering reverie.
Annie and Mikasa exchange amused looks, lowering their kites in tandem with the request.
"Probably not," Annie huffs. "But he'd definitely give us a discount."
"Sweet!" Ymir rejoices. "Let's wrap up our shit and go!"
As the tallest of the group commences a jog back to their post, Mikasa looks over at a sleepy Pieck with concern.
"Did you remember to put on sunscreen?" she asks, examining questionable red patches along Pieck's back.
"I put some on a few hours ago," Pieck replies casually, oblivious to the worried tone of her voice.
The two walk back to join an impatient Ymir, while Annie stops for a moment to look out into the sea. The waves continue to roll over one another, the waters sparkling like crystals from afar.
Her breath is taken away by the vastness of its expanse, the thought of its mere existence tremendously unfathomable.
She finds herself at ease, taking in the calm breeze, her face lightly sprayed with ocean mist, her hair blowing freely in the wind.
Annie marvels at the familiar sensations like they're bestowing a homecoming; as though she's welcomed back with open arms, answering the call of the sea.
Oh, sweet, sweet summer…