Ocean of Fire
Chapter 5
Aerith folded Demyx's shirt with care. It smelled of lavender, the scented detergent she used to clean the dirty shirt. She hoped he would not mind due to the fact she had no other non-scented cleaners. She liked the smell because it reminded her of her garden on the roof of her apartment. Yet, despite this, Aerith was still bothered by something. How could Demyx's be completely dry. He claimed to have dived in to save her but if he had then he would have been soaked like her. His shirt only became wet when she wore it.
"Why would he lie?" Aerith pondered aloud as she set the shirt on the edge of her table next to her beach towel. This way she would remember to return it to him.
Aerith sighed and looked at the time. It was still too early to meet Demyx at their usual spot. She had not been able to sleep well and found herself keeping herself busy by organizing and cleaning her cabin. As she worked, she constantly wondered why her friend would lie about saving her. Was he embarrassed? Did she happen to wash up onto the bank and he simply just dragged her up and out of the water? She knew her friend was a good swimmer, far better than her, so it was not as if he could not have saved her. She sighed again.
Maybe she could send him a text message on his phone. The two had exchanged numbers so they could contact one another if something came up. She started to write something but then stopped herself. It felt really silly, to her, to ask someone through text a question like this.
"I guess I could just ask him directly." she said finally.
Aerith did not understand why it bothered her so much. The idea that Demyx lied to her just annoyed her. People have lied to her before. Her parents lied to her about mediocre things like the existence of the tooth fairy. Yet, this seemed to trouble her more, as if she expected Demyx to be honest with her because she and him were childhood friends. She frowned. Glancing out the window she could see the sunlight peeking over the horizon. She was not sure if he would be at the spot but she decided to go there anyway, since she was already up.
On the other end of the residency cabins Demyx was unlocking his cabin door. He strolled in tossing his keys onto the kitchen counter before flicking on the light switch. He was dressed in khaki color pants and dark shirt, his work attire. Letting out a sigh of relief he stretched his arms out when the sound of a tune playing filled the air. Demyx paused before finding his cell phone deep in his pocket. He looked at the caller and his eyes widened slightly, a flicker of worry in them. The name on the screen said "Axel."
He answered, "Axel?"
The voice on the other end sounded pleasant to say the least. "Hey Demyx."
"Is everything all right?" Demyx questioned, worry in his voice.
"Yeah, everything is fine. I haven't heard from you in a while. Roxas was getting worried."
A small smile spread on the blonde hair man's face. "Everything is fine here. I'm someplace safe."
"Good, so are we." he said.
"What about Saix and Zexion?" he questioned.
He listened to Axel on the other end. Apparently he had just spoken with them as well. They were fine. Demyx felt relief. He had not contacted his friends in a while. He felt guilty for it.
"So what's got you so busy that you can't pick up a phone and call?" Axel asked.
Demyx frowned. Now he felt even more guilty. "Well... there's this girl..."
"Hold on," Axel said suddenly. "You sure it's okay? I mean with everything going on?"
"Axel it's fine. She's an old friend. We're just catching up on old times."
Axel made a noise from the other end. "If you say so." He did not sound convinced. "Anyway, Roxas is getting back with our food. We're hitting the road again. I'll catch up with you again when we are settled."
"Be careful out there, man." Demyx said.
"You watch your own back, Demyx. You know what's out there."
Demyx smiled, grateful for his concern. "I have a whole ocean at my back. I'm not too worried."
The two hung up. Demyx sighed. He was not too sure about his back, especially since his friends were always moving. Yet, one thing he was sure about was that Aerith was waiting for him. Any worry he had would vanish the moment he saw her smiling face. He made a mad dash around his cabin to get ready. Ready in minutes, he then booked it down to the beach, ready for fun.
He saw her already on the beach, standing and watching the ocean waves crash back and forth. Demyx felt a wave of exhaustion hit him. He should have crashed on his couch and napped until the afternoon. He did not want to though. He wanted to see Aerith. Seeing Aerith again was worth a lack of sleep because he was not sure if he would see her again. After all, it could just end up like when they were children. That thought made Demyx shiver. He pushed it out of his mind and called out to her, placing a happy smile on his face.
Aerith turned around, she waved. In her other hand was his clean shirt. She held it out to him as he approached. Demyx took it.
"Wow, you didn't have to clean it." he said.
"How could I return a dirty shirt to you?" she asked.
Demyx shrugged and brought his nose to the shirt. He breathed in the scent of lavender.
"Smells like flowers." he laughed.
Aerith smiled weakly. Demyx in turn began to lay out his towel. She felt like now would be the best time to ask him.
"Demyx," Aerith said, causing him to look up at her. He had smile on his face but it faded when he noticed the worried look on her face.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, although he knew something was wrong just not what.
Aerith looked away briefly as if unsure how to put her thoughts into words. When she managed to think of what to say she looked at him. "You didn't really jump into the water to save me yesterday, did you?"
Demyx looked surprised. "What do you mean, of course I did?"
Aerith shook her head. "How then can you have been completely dry if you jumped in after me?"
Demyx looked stunned. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess... uh... well you caught me!"
The blonde-haired man grinned at her. Aerith looked surprised at this.
"It sounded more heroic if I saved you than me just pulling you out by your arm right?" he asked. "I thought you would think of me as cool!"
He began to flex his muscles. "Ya' know like when we were kids!"
Demyx remembered over exaggerating himself as some hero to Aerith as a kid. He would pretend he was super strong and super faster (he was faster and stronger than Aerith as a kid so it made him look cooler to her). The frown, however, remained on Aerith's face. Somehow she could not bring herself to believe that as an explanation.
"But why lie about something like that?" she asked.
"It's not a big deal Aerith," Demyx said brushing off her concern.
Aerith looked away. Demyx could see this was really bothering her. He took a step close to her when Aerith gathered up her towel and began walking away.
"Hey! Wait!" Demyx called, running after her. "Where are you going?"
Aerith turned to him a look of anger on her face. "Demyx, the reason I came here is because I just got over a bad break up. My ex-boyfriend lied to me... it hurt... I don't need someone else lying to me either!"
Tears were forming in her eyes. She bolted from her spot, leaving Demyx dumbfounded. He lifted his hand in an attempt to stop her but instead lowered it. He watched as she ran the length of the beach. His face faltered and he lowered his head in shame.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered to the wind.
The memories of her ex-boyfriend brought too much pain for Aerith. She ran to her cabin and shut the door behind her. She flung herself on to her bed and sobbed into her pillow for a long while before drifting off to sleep. She woke up a long while later, puffy eyed and sniffling. She washed her face clean but could still see the puff around her eyes. The brunette felt miserable.
Now that she was much more calm, Aerith felt worse than before. She just yelled at her friend for no real reason. Sure he lied, but it was not something that she should have been upset about. He saved her, regardless of how, he saved her and that was all that really mattered. The problem was her ex-boyfriend was the real liar. He hurt her. Aerith wondered if she was just letting out her anger and frustration over everything onto Demyx. Demyx, a guy who did not deserve her anger.
I feel like such an idiot Aerith thought. Here I am crying over some stupid, stupid guy. I must have looked like a complete idiot in front of Demyx. It wasn't even his fault and I lashed out at him. I wonder what he thinks of me...
She stumbled out of her bathroom, rubbing her sore eyes. Mentally she kept yelling at herself for acting like a child. Demyx did not deserve her lashing. In hindsight the lie did not really do any harm to her. How come it had to hurt though? He was not her ex-boyfriend. Her actions made her feel worse.
She looked out the window of her cabin and down at the ocean. She could not see the beach but Aerith was curious to see if he was there. Opening the door to the deck, she stepped out onto it. She walked to the edge of the deck and peered over to see the beach below. Sure enough she could see Demyx in the distance. She could tell it was him, even from so far away. His mannerisms were not ordinary. He always seemed to have some strange air about him, one she enjoyed being around. He waded into the water and began swimming around. Aerith wondered if she had hurt his feelings. If he saw her would he be upset with her?
Aerith sighed, turning to go back inside. How could she face him? She felt like a foolish child. She stood in her cabin fighting with herself for a good half hour. She only stopped when there was a knock on the door. She opened it without much thought only to find a nervous looking Demyx standing there. He was dripping wet with water.
"Uh, hi," he said looking at his feet and not at her.
"Hi..." Aerith said softly.
"Look," he said, suddenly picking his head up to look her. "I didn't mean to lie to you. I'm really sorry please don't be mad at me."
"I'm not mad," Aerith said shaking her head. "Not at you. I just am not over the fact that what my ex did to me. It's why I am here to get away, to escape. I'm sorry I took my anger out on you."
Demyx let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you were going to be so mad at me. When I saw you on your deck I was hoping you were going to come down and talk but you didn't. So I came up here thinking you were so mad you never wanted to see me again."
Aerith shook her head again. "No, no... Demyx truthfully I am glad you are here. When I am with you I can forget about it all."
A smile crept on his face and without thinking, he grabbed her in a big hug. His arms circled around her easy as he happily squeezed her. Aerith felt her cheeks burn by the sudden gesture.
"You make me happy, ya' know that?" he laughed. "When I'm with you I don't worry about anything."
Aerith felt her heart flutter a bit but it was the sound of her stomach growling that made him let her go. He looked down at her surprised before laughing.
"Forget to eat?" he asked.
"I need to get groceries..." she admitted, embarrassed.
Without hesitating, he grabbed her by the hand. "Okay, let's go shopping together then!"
Aerith felt relief wash over that Demyx was not giving her grief for her sudden outburst. She held back as he tried to drag her along with him.
"Wait," she said softly.
He looked at her. "What is it?"
"How come you're not angry with me?" she asked shamefully. "I was really rude to you."
Demyx smiled and placed a gentle hand on her head. "Because life is too short to be mad at someone."
Aerith looked up at him as he patted her head. It was weird to be touched in such a way, after all she was not some kid. Yet, she did not mind. It reminded her of when they were kids.
Aerith was crying loudly as she laid on the ground.
"Oi! Aerith did you fall?" a young Demyx asked running to her side.
Aerith sobbed, nodding her head. Demyx smiled and took her hands and helped her up.
"You'll be okay." he said before patting her head. "Don't cry anymore okay?"
Aerith smiled at him. "You always make me feel better."
Demyx smirked and rubbed his nose. "Well you know what they say."
Aerith shook her head. "No, what do they say?" She had no idea whom Demyx was talking about. Apparently neither did Demyx but he did not let her in on the fact that he did not know.
"Well they say we're short and we shouldn't cry."
Aerith tilted her head slightly. "Are you sure that's what they say?"
Demyx shrugged. "Who cares let's go swimming!"
Aerith laughed as Demyx took her by the hand and began pulling her along to the beach.
Aerith allowed herself to be dragged off by her friend. No sooner the two were at the store, pushing a cart around together. Aerith was grabbing some fresh produce, meats, and such. Demyx helped her out by carrying heavier items or getting things from shelves Aerith was too short to reach. Everything was going smooth until Aerith realized she did not bring her wallet until they came to the register.
"Oh no!" Aerith said. "I left my wallet back at the cabin."
Demyx smiled. "I got this, don't worry about it okay?"
"B-but..."
He shook his head. "I said don't worry about it."
Demyx paid without hesitating. Aerith frowned as the bill was pretty large but Demyx paid no mind to it.
"I'll pay you back," Aerith said, embarrassed.
Demyx shook his head, "Nope, you won't. Just think of it as an apology, okay?"
Aerith frowned but Demyx refused to take no for an answer. As the two walked back together. They chatted lightly.
"We got so much food," Aerith said feeling guilty.
"Well, now you don't have to go shopping for a while." Demyx said.
The brunette looked down at the bags in her hand and his. "Well, you could always help eat some of this. I would hate for it to spoil."
Demyx grinned. "You sure?"
"Yes, you can come over anytime to eat."
"You might regret that," he said grinning wider. "I can eat a lot."
Aerith laughed. Her smile reaching her eyes. Demyx smiled gently, enjoying this face better than her crying one. When her laughter subsided she had to ask.
"Would you like to eat dinner with me tonight?" she asked.
"Really?" he asked. "I would love too! What are we having."
Aerith shrugged. "I don't know yet. Would you like to help?"
"Of course!"
Soon Aerith's kitchen was full of laughter and the smell of something delicious. Aerith stirred the contents of a pan while over her shoulder she watched Demyx chopping up ingredients. He brought her the items and Aerith noted they were roughly chopped up vegetables.
"Let me guess," she said. "You don't cook much?"
Demyx grinned sheepishly. "If it comes out of a box or is already made for me then yeah I can."
Aerith smiled. "Let me show you how to chop up veggies."
She grabbed a green bell pepper and placed it on the cutting board. She held her knife up and began slicing it into strips. Demyx watched amazed at her skill.
"You're good."
"The more you cook the more you learn." she said proudly. "I had to learn... a lot..."
Demyx noted her trailing off. He looked at her curiously. There would only be one reason she would have to learn a lot, at least from his perspective.
"Your parents...?"
Aerith nodded sadly. "I had to grow up fast."
Demyx placed his hands on her shoulder. "Don't be sad."
Aerith shook her head. "I'm all right, really."
Without thinking he pulled her into a hug. Aerith looked shocked as she felt his arms around her. He held her tightly in his embrace. She still needed to get used to Demyx's sudden gestures as they were causing her to become slightly embarrassed.
"I like you smiling the best." he whispered. "It makes me happy."
Aerith hugged him back smiling. "I like when you smile too."
Suddenly, the sound of crackling from the pan alerted them. Aerith looked up and so did Demyx. They broke apart and laughed nervously.
"We should probably pay attention before we burn something." Aerith said softly.
Demyx nodded. The two began to work again. Soon enough a delicious vegetable stir-fry was before the two. It was full of peppers, onions, baby corn, snap peas, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and broccoli. It also came with a generous scoop of rice and soy sauce. Demyx had been adamant not to have broccoli added in as he did not like them but Aerith insisted, as she said, they were good for him.
Demyx lifted up his fork that was piercing a large piece of broccoli. He had a grimace on his face. The prospect of eating the green vegetable was torturous. Aerith was already digging into her stir fry.
"What's wrong?" she asked, after swallowing some food.
"This is what's wrong." he said holding the broccoli away from him in disgust. "This thing looks like a tree."
"Demyx, it is not that bad." she replied. "You may actually like it."
"No, I might die if I eat it."
Aerith laughed, "It's a vegetable! Not poison! Just try it."
Demyx shook his head. He then reached over the table and held the offending vegetable to her.
"You eat it!"
Aerith shrugged and took the broccoli into her mouth and slid it off the fork. Demyx looked surprised that she would actually do such a thing. Aerith smiled as she ate the food and swallowed. She then stuck her fork into her own plate of food and fished out a piece of broccoli. She held it out to Demyx.
"Your turn." she insisted.
Demyx grimaced. Aerith leaned forward holding it closer. Reluctantly, Demyx opened his mouth and ate the broccoli. The look on his face was one of torture at first. For the first few seconds, Aerith thought Demyx was in pain. Then it changed to one of wonder, as if he was curious about how the broccoli could actually taste good. He finished and looked over at Aerith.
"Was it that bad?" she asked.
"No," Demyx mumbled.
Aerith smirked and fished out more food from her plate. As she ate Demyx watched her. He was still surprised that she would eat off the same fork as him. Most people found that sort of thing weird unless they were a couple. Demyx looked down at his food. He ate it, broccoli and all. Aerith seemed pleased that Demyx ate all his food. With their plates empty Aerith stood up and began gathering the dirty dishes. She then fathered all the utensils and pans they used to prep the food and placed them in the sink.
After turning on the water, Aerith got a sponge and poured soap all over it. Demyx got up and watched her as she began to wash a dish. He reached over and went to grab the dish but Aerith pulled away.
"I got it," she insisted.
"Let me help." he offered.
"Oh no, it's okay."
"But you just made me dinner. I should at least help with the dishes."
Aerith shook her head. "It's okay I wanted to make you dinner."
She turned back to finish washing when Demyx arms came around and grabbed a hold of the dish in her hand. His body was against hers and Aerith felt her own body tense. She was used to being close to Demyx but not like this. It had already happened several times today. The closeness made he uncomfortable. She should not have been as nervous with her friend standing behind her. His arms around her and gripping over hers to gather the plate in her hand. It felt like something a boyfriend would do, not a friend.
He leaned over her shoulder as his hands moved over the dishes. Aerith wondered if Demyx knew what he was doing. He was always so carefree and easygoing that acting like this seemed out of character.
"See I'm helping." he said.
His voice was normal and it relieved Aerith. She nodded and then took a step back so he would have to break his hold around her. She looked up and smiled.
"You win, you win." she said. "How about I wash and you dry?"
He grinned. "You got it."
He grabbed the nearby dish towel and waited for her to hand the wet dishes to him. Soon the atmosphere seemed normal between them. The two laughed and joked with one another like old friends. It took the two far longer than normal to finish washing dishes but managed to finish when they decided to buckle down and stop messing around.
"To be fair," Demyx said. "I think I made the work harder."
Aerith laughed as she settled down on the sofa. "Yes, but it was so much fun. I always have fun with you. I feel like a kid again."
"Me too!" he agreed. "Oh remember when we were little and we built a sand castle?"
"Which time?"
"The first time..."
Aerith thought back then answered, "Oh yeah and these other teenagers came along and trampled all over it on purpose."
"We were so mad. We worked so hard!" he sulked.
"Yeah," Aerith sighed as she reminisce. "But then those teens went surfing and the wave snapped their surf boards in half, talk about karma being a major... you know."
Demyx smirked. "Then we built a better sandcastle. It was so cool and bigger than the last one."
"And then the high tide came in and washed it away." Aerith laughed.
"Talk about karma," Demyx grimaced.
Aerith tilted her head to the side. "Demyx you know what karma means right?"
"Yeah I do," he said. "It was probably because I... wanted them to get their just desserts."
Aerith looked down and said quietly, "Me too."
She then looked up to meet Demyx's green eyes. He looked slightly surprised by her confession. Perhaps he thought of her as being a "forgive and forget" type person. She was nice for the most part but there were times where she was not at her best. After all, she was only human.
"You do have a wicked side," he noted. "You are not all sunshine and rainbows!"
"What about you?" she asked. "You have a evil side too, I bet!"
Demyx looked away. He scratched his head and frowned.
"Yeah, I do." he admitted.
"We're only human. It's only natural to get mad at unfair things." Aerith reasoned.
"I just don't want my ugly side to get out." he muttered.
Aerith frowned. However, Demyx turned and grinned. He quickly changed the subject.
"Hey remember when..."
And the conversation continued long until Demyx had to force himself to leave for work. He bid is friend farewell at the door. Aerith looked tired and he assumed she would just curl up into bed soon after. He strolled down the path that was abandoned now. He was surprised more people were not out and about. The resort bars, clubs, and restaurants were open late. A lot of the time, Demyx would find people stumbling around trying to get back to their cabins. As he thought about that, the sound of rustling came from a bush near him. Demyx stopped and turned around.
He turned toward the bush and watched the rustling leaves stop. He approached it cautiously. His fists clenched, prepared for someone to pop out at him. He took another step and then a cat jumped out and darted past him. Demyx jumped at the creature and let out a long breath he had been holding. He rubbed his face and his fingers stopped at his temples as he let out a soft shaky laugh. It was a cat- A CAT- he was getting worked up over a silly animal. He needed to get to work.
Demyx did not go right to work though. Instead he walked down to the beach and looked at the water. He stood just before water met sand. He breathed in the salty night air, a deep long breath. He knelt down and held his hand over the water before dipping his hand in.
He closed his eyes and listened to the waves move, a sound so soothing to him. The water soothed him, calmed him down when he was feeling anxious. It was something he felt safe around.