It was late and guess what? I was bored... what better to do then check out a few PHM challenges and get inspired, no?
It turned out longer then expected and it was cuter in my head, but still…
enjoy,
The sea; so many different layers. Calm, yet deep. Colours shining in the low evening sun. One man, curly haired and tall, wet swimming trunks on his hips, stood watching it.
It represented him in a lot of ways, the sea, if you think about it. Witch was exactly what he was doing, thinking. About his next song, about swimming in the way too cold water, about how cool this vacation was, how real love could restore world peace, how good Macy looked in a bikini, about how the evening sun was orange, while in the middle of the day, it was bright yellow.
Nick thought a lot, always calm and going with the... flow? Just like the sea…
His toes dug in the sand, as a breeze, warmed by the day's hot temperature, blew over the sand. Taking the voices and laughter of his friends and family with it.
Nick smiled one of his rare smiles as the wind blew through his hair and he watched Joe chase Stella as Kevin carried Frankie on his shoulders, holding him with one hand, carrying their mothers' straw beach-bag in the other.
Nick walked away, towards the peer, enjoying this little moment of silence and time to himself. Not even the quickly in temperature dropping water, running over his feet bothered him. Kicking away little rocks towards the silhouette of the peer.
"Joe of Jonas, stop that!" a laughing voice drifted his way and Nick smiled again. Loving the sound of it in the late evening. That said, he would even love it four O'clock in the morning.
A really large wave made its way over the beach, bumping something into Nick's ankle, just as he wanted to make the first step upwards the peer-stairs.
He crouched, examining the object, a shell, a beautiful, light pink sea-shell. Another wave ran over it, turning it around and cleaning it from remaining sand. The inside of it was of a pure white, slightly shining material he couldn't quite place. Though he loved it.
He stretched his finger and ran it over the shell, following its curve towards the top, picking the strange shell up. He turned it around and viewed it in every possible angle and light fall.
His bare feet absent-mindedly brought him up the wooden stairs, walking on the peer, the voices of his family fading on the background. Only the sound of waves, bursting on the wooden piles of the peer, was left.
How could nature, he wondered, create such beauty?
The shell rolled between his fingers, as they were careful not to touch the sharp edges, the rest of it soft as silk.
He rested his elbows on the railing of the peer, staring out over the beautiful beach. It wasn't like a post card, because beaches weren't white and palm-trees did not grow in beach-sand, but it was nevertheless really pretty.
I should give it to Macy. He thought in a wave of bliss. It's just like her, pretty and soft, but with sharp edges and strong. So pure on the inside... Yes, it did represent Macy very well. She would love it; she had been trying to find a shell like this for the two days they were here.
He smiled at the memory…
"Macy, why would you want a shell to hear the sea in, when the sea is right here besides us?" I asked, hands in the pockets of my shorts. Staring bewilderedly at my enthusiastic friend, searching the beach for large weirdly, as sun had now almost set as Nick reawakened from his memories of earlier that vacation.
"Because I want to take the sea and this vacation with me." She answered, in a very 'how can you not understand the logic?' kind of way as she dug out a promising one, but laid it back when it turned out to be cracked and broken.
"Is this beach so precious to you then?" I asked, honestly curious.
"Yes, of course it is!" She said smiling, her teeth shining in the high and very warm sun. I smiled back at her, wondering why that could be when…
"Ouch!"
"Macy! Are you okay?" I asked, crouching down next to her as she exclaimed the yell of pain.
"It's okay, really! I just cut myself… You smiled and I was caught off guard and… um..." She said, slightly shivering because I'm so close to her. "No worries…" She smiled very self-consciously and tried to hide her hand from me, wiping it on her white top.
"Let me see that." I demanded, not very convinced. Her hand was cut open from mid-palm to the beginning of her thumb and the red liquid also smudged on her previously white top dripped out of it, making a slow circle around her wrist.
Without saying much more, I ripped a sleeve of my T-shirt and wiped the blood away.
"I'm just so clumsy." She said, twisting her wrist a little so I could better clean the wound.
"No, it's my fault; I know better then distract you." I answered, kind of guilty I hadn't thought of her still once in a while appearing fan-girl moments.
"You had all the right to distract me! It's not like it's dangerous here and…" She stopped when I held up her hand, showing the now visibly large cut. "Oh…"
I ripped another sleeve off and held it in front of her. "Weird question, but can you spit on this?"
She looked at me
"Do you know why dogs lick their wounds?" I asked and she shook her head, still clearly confused. "Because it has cleaning and disinfecting qualities…" I said.
Her brown eyes grew a little as she nodded and grabbed the material in her not-cut hand.
"There." I said, as I had bandaged her hand with the sleeve.
"Where did you learn to do that?" She asked, examining her perfectly bandaged hand.
"With a brother like Joe? You kind of have to." I said, pulling her up by her healthy hand. "Now, do you still want to find a sea-shell or do we join said danger in swim-trunks?"
She laughed, witch sounded really pretty and said: "Sure, let's go swim, but I'm not giving up my quest."
"Wouldn't have expected anything less."
His parents had decided to go on a well-deserved vacation after the tour and of course Stella and Macy were invited too, much to Joe's and secretly Nick's joy. The island they were on was very nice and it even covered Nick's and secretly Macy's needs of libraries and museums, Stella's craving for malls and foreign fashion and Kevin's strange obsession with animals. As they had went on a trip to an unkempt part of the island, better known as jungle.
Though they had spent the most of their time on the beaches and at the pool in their hotel. Just relaxing and having fun.
He laid his head in his neck and enjoyed the last sunbeams of warmth on his skin.
"Nick!"
Nick jumped, scared by the sudden voice, witch had unexpectedly spoken. In reaction he tensed and grasped the railing… releasing the shell.
"No!" he moaned, reaching for it even though he knew it was now unreachable for him.
"Man? Are you okay?" The voice Nick now recognised as Kevin's asked.
"NO! Kevin, I'm not okay!" he snapped at his older brother who raised his hands in defence.
"Wow, chill, that's what we're here for remember? We were just wondering where you were. Mom was a little anxious when you were gone so suddenly." He said, making him calm down a little.
"Sorry Kev. I just… dropped something into the water I really did not want to drop into the water even though it comes from it." He sighed, making Kevin raise his eyebrows.
"You're once again speaking in mysteries Nicholas." He said, putting his hand on Nick's shoulder. "Come on, let's go to the hotel, Joe and Stella are organising some sort of movie-marathon in the girls' room."
Nick shot one last glance at the water, witch had mercilessly consumed his Macy-shell, before he walked towards the hotel (witch was just across from the beach) along with Kevin.
During the movie marathon, He couldn't really concentrate on the movie, even though he loved those older dance movies like grease and dirty dancing.
It also had nothing to do with Macy lounging against him. Though the subject of his distraction was related to her.
He had really wanted to be the one that gave her that precious piece of the beach, even more because the look on her face when she saw that particular shell would've been priceless.
"I'm going… somewhere…" He said, raising, not noticing Macy's disappointed face as he walked out the hotel-room. His brothers and Stella staring after him bewildered.
If he was quick enough, before the tides changed, he might still have a chance…
He walked, slightly shivering, over the moon-lit beach. It was kind of scary now, without the sun and strangely absent from any form of living beings, he just hoped it was worth it.
He pulled his T-shirt over his head as he walked up the wooden-stairs. Pulling stuff like his cell and keys out of his pocked and wrapped them in his shirt. Laying them down on an abandoned bench. The silver moon light sparkling on the waters surface.
Now where was I standing exactly?
He walked towards the end, as he remembered doing before, and yes; there was still an almost dried puddle of water. The place where he had been standing.
Climbing on top of the railing, he took a few deep breaths and looked down. It was high-tide and the water stood, well, high. He took a deep breath, not releasing it when he heard running footsteps on the stairs.
When he dived, he heard a voice scream: "Nick!" and then broke through the surface. The water was freezing cold and goose-bumps erupted all over his body, but what he saw made him forget about that.
If you have ever dived during the day, you have no idea what you are missing; the sea at night is wonderful, all sorts of strange coloured fish stand out to the dark water, shooting apart as the felt his presence.
He dived deeper, towards the bottom, a few feet lower, grasping the sand, searching for the pink shine.
Come on! He mentally chanted. It has to be here somewhere and I'm running out of breath!
When he couldn't hold it any longer he swam back to the surface and took a deep breath and dove under again.
God, its freezing… where is it? I threw it a little to the right… YES! OUCH!
In his hands he held the large pink shell, its sharp edge digging into his palm. He gritted his teeth and bells of oxygen escaped his mouth.
Kicking his legs, flowing with the waves and still clutching the shell, he made his way to the surface, breaking through with a large gasp of air. When the water ran out of his ears, he heard yells. Very familiar yells…
"Nick! Nick!" the voice shrieked, skipping quite a few tones. "O god Nick, is that you?"
"Yeah." Nick said, soft and hoarse but hearable to Macy, who was hanging over the railing quite dangerously.
"Don't ever scare me like that again Nick of Jonas!" She yelled, using her usual nickname again, calmed down a little.
"Just one more time?" He said, spewing out some water. "Look!" He held up the shell and Macy leaned over more, trying to see what he was holding up.
"I don't see, aaagh!"
"Macy?!"
A loud splash was heard as Macy fell over the railing, into the water.
Nick couldn't help but laugh when her confused face reappeared, utterly confused and with sea-weed on her hair.
Macy watched him for a second as that rare, real laugh came over his lips and then started to laugh too, seeing the humour of the situation. She reached up and grabbed the seaweed off her head. The moonlight now dancing freely off her wet hair.
"It's freezing!" she exclaimed then. Noticing the cool ocean-water drenching her clothes.
"c'mon, let's go." he chuckled and started swimming to the shore, star athlete swimmer on his tail, naturally catching up with him quickly.
They, both good swimmers and very strong, reached the shore quite fast and they walked up the beach, completely soaked and dripping.
"It is completely your fault if Stella's going to kill me when she sees this." Macy said, pointing at her Stella-original shirt. Coming to a halt in front of him.
"I have something to make it up to you though." He said. Holding up the shell in front of her.
As he predicted, her face was priceless. She gasped. "That is so beautiful!"
"Now you have your memory to this beach." he whispered. "I even dived it up for you, which makes it a Jonas artefact."
Her face softened, taking the shell from his hands. "You actually thought I wanted this for the memory of the beach?" She whispered, looking at it with adoration, it doubling when she looked at Nick.
Not it was finally Nick's turn to look confused. "That's what you said." He stated.
Suddenly Macy dropped the shell and swung her arms around his neck. "You are so amazing Nick of Jonas!" She shrieked. "You actually dived and just for me and… I didn't want it for the memory of the beach; I wanted it for the memory of this! A vacation with my friends, even a vacation with JONAS, the memory of being here with you! That's what I wanted!"
"Really?" he asked in her hair, his harms around her waist.
"Really." She sighed and then tensed, as she probably realised she was hugging a Jonas, but Nick didn't care, if he had heard her right (and there was nothing wrong with his hearing) she had wanted the shell, to keep a memory of him! That made his day… Night.
They released each other and smiled softly. These two figures in the sand. A cool breeze playing over the sand. A beautiful sea-shell lying at their feet as the moon shone down on them.
From afar came more voices, curious of where their friends were. One of the approaching teens screaming: "Hey, if you wanted to go skinny-dipping, you could've just said so…" and a "Joseph." –smack- coming after it as the two gazed into each others eyes and slowly leaned in…
~fin