Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews, keep them coming! I need more ideas on things to happen in the story! Also, check out my other Fanfiction, the Trust Game! If you want something to happen between characters, just review or message me and I'll try to work it in! Thanks for reading, read and review!
It'd been a month since Fang had taken that bullet, and he was out of the hospital and pretty much back to normal. That was good, but it sucked that school started in a week. Like seriously, where did the summer go? It feels like yesterday that it was my birthday when Fang asked me out. It feels like we just moved here and I couldn't believe I'd been here a year. I was going to be a sophomore. Geez, where did my life go?
To celebrate Fang being out of the hospital and stitches free we were going to the beach. Fang's and my mom were coming, as well as Ella and Iggy and of course Angel.
Ella came bouncing into my room this lovely morning around 8 to pick out my swimsuit and clothes. Apparently I didn't even have enough talent to pick out a swimsuit.
"Here," Ella called tossing a somewhat skimpy coral swimsuit out of my closet.
"Ella this is a bikini…" I began.
"Yeah I know, that's the point. Put it on, let's go." She had a huge grin on her face, probably from thinking about Iggy shirtless. I rolled my eyes, but agreed and went into my bathroom.
I the bathing suit on, the coral top was a bandeau style and had was actually really cute. The color stood our against my skin and my brown eyes popped. The bottoms were white string tie bottoms and they made me look tan and skinny. For once, I had to thank my sister's taste and skill with fashion. Without her, I would like a total wreck. I grabbed a pair of white shorts and the teal V-neck Ella had left on my bed along with a belt and a pair of black flip flops. I just wanted to be comfortable; it was the beach with Fang. He wouldn't care if I was dressed to impress or if I showed up in sweats. He was just great like that.
I put my hair up in a messy bun, a few strands falling out so I just pushed them behind my ears. Fang, Angel and Mrs. Ride were hanging out in the kitchen with my mom and Ella when I came downstairs. Iggy had just gotten here and was walking through the front door as I hurried down the stairs. Fang and I went outside to go grab beach stuff from the garage.
"Good morning beautiful," he told me with a grin.
I blushed, smiling back. "Hey." He put his arms around me, pulling me into a hug setting the beach stuff to the side. My arms were wrapped around his back, and I leaned into his strong chest. He was wearing a typical Fang shirt, black V-neck. And being Fang, he decided to top it off with the black swimsuit. It had designs in white and silver on it, but no on honestly cares what his swimsuit looks like so I'll just pretend I described for you.
"Are the lovebirds ready for the beach?" my mom asked chuckling as everybody piled outside.
"Absolutely," I replied, still excited. I love the beach. I mean the ocean is way better than a lake but still, this is awesome. Instead of following the typical Chicago-land stereotypes and going to North Avenue beach downtown Chicago which was always crowded, busy and had no waves, we were taking a special trip to Michigan. It was some special beach Fang's mom knew that was right on the border of Michigan and Indiana but had giant waves and never had any people there. It was tricky to get to, but well worth it when we got there.
Ella and Iggy were talking softly in the back, and our moms were chatting it up in the front seat, which left Fang, Angel and I in the middle row. Angel was completely engaged in Despicable Me, which was playing from the DVD player in the car. I watched as she smiled along with the characters and laughed as Gru's evil minions came on screen. Not gonna lie, I totally love that movie. You would need to be heartless to not like that movie. I leaned into Fang who was sitting in the middle on my left. He smiled and I turned to watch our car fly over the pavement. Signs flew by as we made our way down the highway, and out of Illinois and into Indiana.
An hour or so later, we turned down a narrow street surrounded by trees and bushes on both sides. I rolled my window, inhaling the sweet scent of the wilderness. We parked down by the edge of the trees where the dirt turned to sand. A wooden staircase was embedded into a hill which led down to the beach. I felt the sand beneath my toes as Fang and I made our way down the ladder. The waves crashed against the shore and it smelled amazing. Just like they do in movies.
I looked out onto the horizon and it was beautiful. The lake met the sky and two different shades of blue merged into one. Boats lined the lake, most too far out to see except for the outline. The white sand reflected the sun, and a warm breeze whistled in my ears. I saw Angel run down to the beach and start collecting rocks and shells and different leaves to use for her sand castle. Fang's hand found mine, his fingers lacing through mine as we walked down to the beach all the way to the water, letting our feet feel the cool sand run between our toes every time a wave crashed.
We walked back to our spot where we had several towels laid out and Fang dropped my hand, pulling off his shirt, revealing a perfectly toned, tan chest. He winked as he saw me stare at him and I blushed and looked away before taking off my jeans and t-shirt. I had to admit Ella knew how to make me look good.
He was busy helping Angel build a sand castle and I was tired so I just laid down on a towel. I pulled my Aviators down so they covered my eyes and laid perfectly still, letting myself feel amazingly warm from the Sun. The rays beat down hard on me and I could practically feel myself burning. Too bad I don't burn and I just get tan. I closed my eyes perfectly relaxed. I considered looking through a book or magazine then realized there was a problem. I don't read. Not during the school year and certainly not during the summer.
Just as I was becoming tired and decided maybe I would like sleep or something, strong hands scooped me right off the towel.
"Fang!" I shrieked throwing off my sunglasses and glaring up at him. He smirked down at me as he splashed into the water. He kept on carrying me through the water even as it passed his waist. The water splashed up onto me and it was warm and refreshing. I shifted my gaze downwards and the water was crystal clear and I could see perfectly down to the sandy bottom. The sand was soft and smooth under Fang's tanned feet which seemed a shade lighter underwater.
The beach was beautiful and I realized how happy I was here. I had everything I could've asked for. I sighed and smiled to myself, looking out at the horizon where the water turned darker and met with the cloudless sky.
All of a sudden, I was dunked under water into the calm world below the air. I opened my eyes and was surprised at how easily I could see. I reached down, feeling the smooth sand letting it fall between my fingers. I resurfaced and saw Fang watching me with a small smile etched on his perfect face.
"What?" I asked suddenly a little defensive.
"Nothing," he replied, still with a small smile.
"What's so funny?" I asked wondering if I should be embarrassed.
"You're just so cute. You're 15 and you're just sitting at the bottom of Lake Michigan playing with the sand. You're just awesome," he explained with his lopsided smile. I laughed.
"Okay Mr. I'm-Too-Cool-To-Have-Fun-In-Lakes, I'm sorry I didn't grow up right next to Lake Michigan. Not my fault I didn't have the luxury of playing with sand when I was five," I told him with a smirk.
He rolled his eyes, "Alright Max, whatever you say."
One reason we get along so well is that whenever I'm having a moment where I just do whatever I feel like, Fang lets me do it and doesn't make fun of me or laugh or be a jerk.
"Can we go farther out?" I asked, sounding like a 5 year old.
He grinned and nodded, "Sandbar right out there." He pointed to a strip of sand that seemed to go all the way in both directions and seemed a lighter color blue there. That means its shallow right? Cause the sun has less space to travel so it goes all the way to the bottom and hits the sand. That's why the waters warmer in shallow spots. See, it's summer and you learned something just by hanging out with me. You're welcome.
We swam/walked over to the sandbar and I was surprised at how shallow the water got. The water came down to my knees which was so cool.
"Cool huh?" Fang asked as he walked up beside me. I nodded in agreement. It was quiet for a moment and we just stared at the lake, the sun casting perfect shadows against the boats and trees lining the lake.
He slipped his hand into mine as we stood in a comfortable silence, our backs warmed by the sun. It was quiet. Calm and peaceful. I wished I could live on the beach.
Fang turned to me, and I thought he was going to say something but instead he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. I knew everyone was probably watching us but I didn't care. I closed my eyes and let myself feel vulnerable. I wrapped my arms around his waist and he pulled me closer. One of his hands cupped my face as our lips moved in unison. I just felt so right with him. I just felt whole and happy. You probably think I'm crazy but wait til you have the same moment with someone. You'll know it when it happens.
I pulled away breathing in deeply. I leaned into his chest, and his arms wrapped around me holding me against him. He smelled good, a mix of his cologne and sand which smells a lot better than it sounds.
After a few minutes of just standing there with him I turned and grabbed his hand, pulling him into the deep water with me. We made a splash as we went underwater but I turned around to face him and grinned. I poked his chest and he opened up his eyes with a smirk. I flipped around and then started wondering what it would be like to kiss under water. If it would even work. I get easily distracted as you can probably tell.
After a while of swimming and messing around in the waves Fang and I made our way to shore. We'd drifted a long way to the right of where we'd started off, as well as gotten a lot deeper. The tide was crazy and seemed to tug us in different directions. We finally made our way back to the beach. We headed back to where our towels were set up with a variety of foods. We walked on the wet sand, our feet sinking in, sand sliding between our toes. It's one of the best feelings in the world, I kid you not.
Fang and I grabbed some food and decided to go for a walk and eat. It was easier to talk away from everybody otherwise we just got teased.
I turned towards Fang, serious, "Does it hurt?"
"What?" he asked and then realized my gaze at his chest. Specifically his heart. The small section of skin was lighter than the rest, oddly shaped just to the right of his heart.
"Your scar," I said trailing off.
He shrugged. "Sometimes." Real helpful Fang. Honestly, would it kill him to speak in full sentences all the time?
"Thank you," I said suddenly remembering how it was all my fault. A lump formed in my throat and I stared at his scar, thinking about how I messed everything up. I caused him to get hurt and be in the hospital and ruin his summer. I put him through so much pain. It struck some of his main arteries and veins and he died twice. They brought him back from the dead twice and I couldn't even imagine how strong the pain must have been.
"Don't thank me," he said his voice rough. "It was nothing."
I looked him straight in the eye. I melted in his gaze, fierce and strong, all of his emotions hidden behind his dark obsidian eyes. They were a mask, hiding everything he didn't want on display. "It wasn't nothing Fang. You died twice. For me. Because of me. It's obviously my fault," I began, spitting out more words than I wanted to.
His eyes widened, "It's not your fault," he said. He looked frustrated. Almost angry and sad. I wasn't totally sure why, but I hated seeing him upset.
"Don't lie to me," I said immediately.
He sighed. "Nothing's your fault, okay? I jumped in front of the bullet myself because I wanted to. It's my fault if anything. Promise me you won't ever think it's your fault again?"
"I don't know," he raised his eyebrows at my indistinct response. "Okay fine, whatever you say," I told him irritated. Why couldn't he just accept that it was my fault and accept my apologies. He was so stubborn. Almost as stubborn as me.
I rolled my eyes but drifted into silence knowing I had no leverage on this. He sighed, "I could never let anything hurt you. I just physically and mentally can't. I just didn't think twice about saving you. It didn't occur to me."
I blushed and I felt my eyes get hot, "You know I would do that for you too."
We kept walking, away from everything. All of our problems. Our feet sunk into wet sand and water splashed up to our ankles.
It's funny how quickly you can come to care for someone. I'd known Fang for what, like a year now? He was the most important person in the world to me. He was my boyfriend, and more importantly best friend. He was all I could ever ask for. I got so lucky to be able to meet him.
It's funny how much I dreaded coming here. Now it's the best thing that's ever happened.
It's funny how I hardly missed my old life.
It's just funny how life works.
It's funny how quickly I could lose everything. In the blink of an eye. And that's why I make sure I never take anything for granted.