Spring Break Week
Day 3 of 7
Maybe he ought to have just stayed behind in the hotel to avoid any sort of unpleasant (or so he claimed) run-ins with clumsy, adorable redheads. But Mytho weaseled him into surfing with him. "Did you see the waves today?" his friend said with a grin, "It'd be a darn shame to miss out on them!"
Ultimately, Fakir didn't regret it. The waves were pretty amazing, the water cool and soothing. Thankfully, it seemed that the beach was generally less crowded than the last couple of days. And the sport invigorated him.
After a couple hours, he decided to give it a rest, letting Mytho and Rue flirt together on his surfboard while he returned to shore. He lay back on his towel and closed his eyes, relaxing his muscles and drying off in the sun.
… But Fakir's good mood was bound to plummet sooner or later.
His eyebrow twitched when he heard jeering voices from a small distance away. He glanced over, his lips parting.
There was that redhead again, dressed in a white camisole and blue shorts. She was surrounded by smirking, chuckling idiots, all of whom pointed down at a deflated beach ball on the ground. The shame in her cheeks and eyes and her fumbling, twiddling fingers said it all for him.
None of your business, he told himself, Leave it alone.
Yet, he was already sitting up and making his way over, his heart tugging uncomfortably at the sight of her crestfallen expression. He came to a stop beside her, staring them all down from above her head.
It was surprisingly easy to give the pompous teens his best, nastiest glare he could muster. In fact, he didn't even have to say anything before they simply backed away, shooting anxious stares over their shoulders as they left the girl alone.
"A-Ah—it's you again—I mean, I-I just keep causing trouble for you even when I bet you're trying to enjoy your vacation—!"
His cheeks warmed when hers did, her freckled nose wrinkling as she fretted over him once again.
… God, she was so stupidly cute.
He coughed, glancing away and scratching the back of his head. "Forget about it. They were being stupid anyway."
"I … well, I did ruin their ball …"
She needed to stop looking so down. And he found himself astonishingly determined to see that frown go away. "Come on. You like popsicles?"
Popsicles were a mistake.
Popsicles were a gigantic mistake.
"Um, Fakir?"
They'd already introduced themselves to one another and took a seat on one of the beach's rock faces, but hearing his name from her lips, reddened from the popsicle juice and puckered from the frozen treat, certainly didn't help the way his heart might've burst right out from his ribs.
Her name was Ahiru. And that popsicle was a mistake.
"Fakir, are you okay? Your face is all red—do you need sunblock?"
