Chapter 44: 41 | senior ditch day

The sun beats down on the gathering of students scattered about the sand dunes of the beach, its blinding rays reflecting upon the surface of the dark blue waters. The ocean breeze seems to be near nonexistent in this sweltering heat, but Avery's lips are in a smile nonetheless; this is the way it's supposed to be.

This is home.

Unlike the day in the park at the beginning of the month, there's no uncomfortable dread settling in her gut now. Nothing but bliss swirls within her as she hooks her woven bag over her shoulder and falls into step with Luke and Nic as the three of them make their way toward the gathering.

Maybe it's the calming presence of the water, or the warm sand beneath her feet. Maybe it's simply the fact she's walking across that graduation stage in a mere two weeks.

She's sure once the day of graduation comes around the panic of no longer being a high school senior will set in, but right now – if anything – she's looking forward to this joint Senior Ditch Day between the graduating classes of Acebridge West and Ace East.

Because of course, as per tradition, on the Monday following their separate senior proms, the two spend this day together.

Which comes as a surprise to no one; never-ending claims of a cutthroat rivalry be damned.

Not even the clouds usually hovering above her on days like these – the ones whispering of cynics and memories of crude words – can eclipse the blinding sunlight shining down on her. She's ready to have fun, to enjoy her day and she's not going to let nothing or no one ruin her good mood.

Which is exactly what Nic is going to do if he keeps up his gloomy facade.

Fidgeting by her side, he drawls out yet another long sigh under his breath – gazing over the beach as if a punishment rather than a chance to skip out on school; one would think he'd be over the moon. She's had to listen to his petulant whining ever since climbing into his car a few minutes before noon, and though she doesn't particularly consider herself a violent person she can't help but to want to reach out and shake him out of his misplaced misery.

As he mumbles yet another incoherent string of words under her breath she whirls around to look at him, the heels of her flats almost slipping her hold where they dangle in her hand.

"What did you say?"

He clears his throat, nodding in the direction of the shore. "Lea and Callie."

Looking in the same direction, she spots Callie and Lea a stone's throw away from the strip of sand where water crosses into dry land and she quickens her step to catch up to them.

"Hi! We were just looking for you!" Callie exclaims, her beaming smile mirroring Avery's as she pulls her into a hug – instantly enveloping her in a scented cloud of sunscreen. Glancing over Avery's shoulder at the boys, her lips twitch in faint amusement as her gaze drifts to Nic. "What's wrong with you?"

Stepping back, Avery rolls her eyes at the sour expression etched into Nic's features. "He's pissed we're not off riding rollercoasters."

"Oh come on," Callie hooks her arm in Nic's, pulling her with him as she resumes walking to find them a suitable spot somewhere across the dunes – not too close to the shore but not too far up either. "Today's going to be so much fun. I promise."

Lea whirls around to follow them, almost knocking Avery off her feet in the process.

"Whoops," Adjusting her grip on the bright green inflated swim toy tucked under her arm, Lea beams. "Sorry."

Luke's eyes narrow as they zero in on the toy – which seems to be at least the same height as Lea – while she flails it around, reaching out to steady it as it continues to slip her fingers. "What on earth is that?"

"It's Mr Crocodile!" Avery ducks to the side, narrowly missing being hit in the head, as Lea whirls on her feet again to walk backwards. The girl pushes the toy into Luke's face. "My very dear friend from Silves. Isn't he adorable?"

Lips slipping into a soft smile, amusement dances in Luke's eyes. "Mhm, sure," He's quick to grab a hold of it again as its tail flails in the near non-existent ocean wind. "Just, maybe try asking Mr Crocodile not to take down everyone in his way, would you?"

Avery bites down on her lip as she swallows back a laugh at Lea's pout. Swiftly beelining for Callie and Nic to where they've found themselves a spot in the sand, she drops her bag from her arm and follows to the ground in a cross legged seat.

The skirt of her dress – white with a few colorful flowers embroidered over its skirt – flutters ever so slightly with the faint ocean breeze as she leans back supported by her arms, the sun warm on her skin and the sand warm against her palms as she gazes across the beach.

Seagulls sound from above, overlapping the chatter and happy yells surrounding her and melting together with the more or less drowned out music sounding from a bluetooth speaker somewhere along the shore.

She spots Jake down by the water, his trademark grin on his lips as he dodges a colorful beach ball flying his way by kicking it out to sea. It lands with a splash next to Brianna where they're both among a group of Easters, drawing a laugh out of the girl. Avery lets her gaze flicker over the group once more before continuing to trace the shoreline and the dry land expanding before it in search for Ethan.

Luke drops into a seat next to her, a creatively strung together sentence of curse words escaping him in a mutter under his breath as Mr Crocodile's tail knocks him in the head.

"Here," Lea lets the toy drop to the sand, lips cracking into a smile as she waves to a few of her friends from the volleyball team, already steering her steps toward them. "Watch him for me."

Making a great show of folding his arms over the toy, Luke lifts his hand in a small wave goodbye.

Callie pushes onto her feet, leaving her things behind as she hurries over to Lea. "Wait, I'm coming too."

"Well then I want to come too."

Avery watches Nic, Callie and Lea leave before she turns her gaze to Luke who's busy scrolling through his phone.

She reaches out to pat the plastic toy's nose. "He's cute."

"Mr Crocodile?"

"Yeah."

Her lips slip into a smile as she finally catches sight of Ethan – a white t-shirt paired to his swim shorts as he comes walking their way. It soon fades into a line as he reaches them, her eyes narrowing as he drops to his knees in the sand and snatches Luke's phone from his hand with a grin.

"Here, I have to show you something," He says through a chortled breath, swiftly typing something onto the screen before turning it back to Luke who bursts out in a laugh.

Avery raises her brows, eyes remaining narrowed.

Ethan seems to have trouble holding back a laugh of his own as he hands back the phone, both boys peering down at the screen. "I know right?"

Falling onto her back, Avery watches a few light clouds drift by as she listens to the wheezing sounds of the two boys next to her.

"I'm here too."

Ethan appears above her, shielding her view of the clouds as he shadows her from the sunlight. His palms press into the sand to support himself as he leans across Luke, lips still in a wide smile and she notices the traces of his laughter in his eyes.

"Sorry babe," He presses a swift kiss to her lips, having Luke grimace next to them. "Hi."

"Hi–," Her response fades out on her tongue, smile falling into a line as she's suddenly back to squinting up at the sun – her boyfriend back at Luke's side.

Rolling her eyes as the two launch back into a conversation about God knows what, laughter laced in their words, she lifts herself into a seat. She pulls her dress over her head and lets it fall into her beach bag.

Easing the toy from underneath Luke's arms, she pushes a hand through her hair before getting to her feet – the bright green thing held in front of her.

"Come on Mr Crocodile, I'm taking you for a swim."

Ethan glances up then, eyes lingering on her for a short moment before he says, "I'm coming too."

"That's okay," Avery walks toward the water, mouth in an upward tilt as she throws a glance over her shoulder. "I'm sure you'd rather stay here with Luke."

♡♡♡

Intertwining their fingers as his hand laces around hers, Ethan brings Avery back up from underneath the surface. The corners of his mouth twitch dangerously, lips pressed together as he suppresses a chortled breath.

"I thought we agreed you wouldn't do that anymore."

Coughing violently from the involuntary gulp of water having caught in her throat, Avery shoves him in the chest. "Well, if you stopped trying to drown me every–"

"That was in no way my fault. You just sank."

It's true. She had already known she wouldn't reach the bottom as she stopped treading water, having let herself sink beneath the surface; she just hadn't counted on a laugh leaving her lips at the very same moment – hence the involuntary gulp of water.

As infectious as over, his smile has her own lips curling up as one last cough escapes her. "My legs grew tired. Okay?"

"Not okay," He rolls his eyes, hold tightening around her hand as he swims a little closer to the shore, tugging her along. "Can't spend all my time babysitting you."

Avery flexes her feet. If she remains on her toes she reaches the bottom here. "Well, too bad considering that's why I keep you around,"

She lets her hand slip out of Ethan's hold, looping her arms close around his neck instead as she lets her head fall back to squint up at the blue of the sky above. Her cheeks tighten with her smile as one of his arms come to rest around her waist to keep her there.

Her friends and Mr Crocodile are somewhere closer to the shore – the last she saw of them they seemed busy in a wrestling duel sat atop each other's shoulders.

Still letting her eyes trail the blurred lines of the white dots above, she speaks softly. "Thank you."

She can practically see the all familiar crease appear between Ethan's brows in front of her as she hears the tone of his voice. "For what? Saving you from inhaling the entire sea?"

"Not giving up on me when I tried to push you away," Averting her eyes from the sky, she lets her gaze meet his. She bites down at her lip as her hand comes up to his cheek, smoothing her thumb over a few droplets of water lingering on his skin. "That night at Jake's. Thank you."

"You came to find me first," He points out, gently lifting a few errant wet strands of her hair having stuck to her cheek and tucks them behind her ear. His breath tickles her skin as his gaze flickers to her lips. "I'm really glad you did."

Looping her arm back around his neck, her fingers absentmindedly hook together as her cheeks warm with her smile. The distant happy shouts from the shore are nothing but mere background noise as her gaze holds his; droplets of water lingers in his lashes, darkening the shade of them.

"I am–," Her smile cracks into a chortled grin as Ethan's lips brush against hers. "Too."

Her cheeks warm with her smile as his hand gently comes up to her jaw, hooking his finger under her chin as he lifts her lips into another, longer kiss.

She bats her eyes open as they part, pressing another fleeting peck to his lips as her toes leave the sandy bottom of the sea, her legs absentmindedly wrapping around his torso instead. His arms securely rest over her hip as she lets one of her hands fall from where it's knotted in his hair, pausing palm down at his shoulder before continuing down his chest.

Out of the corner of her eye she notices the smirk curling on his lips as her fingers trace a pattern over his skin. Her cheeks tighten with her stupid smile as she her gaze trails her movements, the pads of her fingertips lining the indents of his abs.

"What are you thinking about Waters?"

She lifts her gaze to his, warmth flooding her cheeks as her jaw begins to ache ever so slightly; the price she's come to accept she has to pay for not being able to control her smile, especially if Ethan's the one who put it there.

He raises his brows, the twinkle of faint amusement in his eyes reflects in her own. "You okay?"

Loosely cupping his cheek, she brushes her thumb over his skin as her lips hover over his – their breaths melting together as she inches closer for another kiss. "Don't act like you don't love it."

♡♡♡

Pausing, Avery takes her eyes off the words on the page before her.

"Are you reading over my shoulder?"

She can sense a smile pulling at Ethan's lips, his cheek warm where it lies pressed against her skin. He lets his fingers trace a pattern along her spine, touch gentle and featherlight as he turns his head to press a kiss to her shoulder.

His curls tickle her temple as they brush against her skin before he lets his head fall sideways onto their shared towel, his smile a full beam on his lips. "No."

She lets her book fall back against the sand, its pages slightly battered from the droplets of water having fallen onto them from her hair. Enveloped in the mixed scent of sunscreen and salt air, she relishes in the sun's warmth shining down on her as she scoops some sand up into her palms. Her lips slip into a soft smile as she watches the grains run back down to the ground as she sprawls her fingers.

Ethan rolls over onto his back, still so close that his skin lies warm against hers. He traces a gentle line along her arm, from her shoulder to her elbow.

"On a scale of 1-10, how likely is it that you've forgiven me for throwing you into the water last year?"

Narrowing her eyes, Avery follows his gaze as he props himself up on his elbows to look out at the ocean. "No."

He laughs, having her chest expand with a warmth that has nothing to do with the sun as her smile automatically widens.

Falling back onto the towel, he folds his hand under his head and squints up at the sun. She leans her chin in her hand, taking his sunglasses from where they're perched atop her head and extends them to him.

"Wow," He weighs the black frames in his hand before sliding them on, peering up at her through the shades with an amused twitch to his lips. "Thank you."

"Sharing is caring."

His smile widens as she reaches out to sprawl her fingers through his hair, letting her hand linger there.

The corners of her lips lift curiously as he watches her; her brows knit together ever so slightly. "What?"

"Just... memories."

Folding her arms over one another against the towel, she leans down to press a short soft kiss to his lips. A chortled sound slips her tongue as his hand comes up to cup her cheek, having her smile pull wider.

"Sorry to cut your PDA short but this shit is melting."

Avery squeezes her eyes shut harder before pushing herself back into a seat. She glances up at the two figures stood hovering above them, casting a shadow over the sand; a shield against the strong rays of the sun where they're stood.

She holds her hand out for one of the ice cream cones in Jake's hand – the peach one, not bothering to acknowledge the smirk on his lips. "Thank you."

Luke, the second half of the two, drops into a seat in the sand as he eyes Avery's ice cream cone. Drawing his knees up, he leans his elbows against them as he eats from his own cone. "Since when do you like waffle cones?"

"I don't," She shrugs. "Ethan does."

"Well isn't that sickeningly adorable?" Jake remarks, falling backwards out of his seat as Ethan props himself up on his elbows and lightly kicks him in the ribs.

Hiding a smile, Avery extends her cone to Ethan. "Where are the others?"

"Lost them along the way," Luke rolls his eyes. "They got caught up in building a sandcastle."

Avery flickers her gaze sideways, finding Ethan's as he does the same through the dark shades of his sunglasses, the upward tilt to his mouth sure to mirror her own. Lips falling into a soft line, she lets her eyes trace the edge of the sea as she scoots back and reaches for her battered paperback.

♡♡♡

"You up for an adventure?"

Turning around where she's stood by the shoreline, the water cold as a wave washes over her feet, Avery takes her dress out of Ethan's outstretched hand. "What kind of adventure?"

"Come fetch the pizzas with me."

"I can do that."

She slips into her dress, lips quirking into a smile as her gaze flickers over Ethan's white t-shirt – realizing they match. She brushes sand off her feet in vain before slipping her flats on.

Smoothing a hand down her dress, she lets her still slightly damp hair out of the twisted bun at the back of her head, combing her fingers through it as it falls out over her shoulders.

"Ready?"

Her smile softens as she lets her palm melt into Ethan's outstretched one. "Ready."

Passing by their sprawled about towels, they bid Callie and Lea goodbye – the latter only mumbling a noncommittal sound as she flips through the magazine in front of her.

Avery hands Ethan her phone to put in his pocket as they make their way toward the boardwalk for their trek into town, passing Jake next – Brianna and Rhea following closely behind him, as he throws a football into the air.

Ethan shoots him a smile, tugging Avery closer as he wraps his arm around her – her hand still securely held in his. "Happy to say your services are no longer needed."

Jake lifts one of his palms to his chest in mock-offense. "I'm deeply wounded," Twirling around on his feet, he launches the football in the direction of Matthew Puckett who catches it in a swift move. "Have fun."

♡♡♡

Reaching out to take a lollipop from the bowl stood upon the counter as they wait for their big pile of an order, Avery doesn't miss the amused quirk that comes to Ethan's lips.

She shoots him a sideways glance as she unwraps the plastic. "What?"

He shakes his head with a smile. "Nothing."

A flutter makes it way up from her stomach as a waft of something sweet trickles by from the kitchen, the thought of pizza seeming better by the second.

Suppressing a small yawn, she senses herself grow tired in a comforting way, the hours spent in the sun catching up to her and she takes a step back. Leant against Ethan's chest – the beat of his heart steady against her back, she bats her eyelashes a few times in an attempt to wake herself up.

He wraps his arms around her, his palms gently rubbing over the goosebumps having erupted over her arms; the cool air of the pizzeria a chill contrast to her sun soaked skin.

She lets her free hand come up to rest on his arm, his hold tightening around her as he brushes a kiss to her temple, having her lips curl into a smile.

♡♡♡

The sun melts into a blur of colors in the horizon; a whirlwind of pink, orange and grayish blue melting together against the lively surface of the dark blue ocean.

Soft chatter and bouts of laughter surround them where they're all sat in the sand, picking at leftover pizza pieces that have since long grown cold.

Next to Avery, Callie scoots down to lie on her back in the sand – balling up Nic's jean jacket to use as a pillow.

"Don't fall asleep," Lea warns, eyes tracing the edge of the sea and the colorful glow of the sky enveloping them. "Or you'll miss it."

Callie speaks through a yawn. "I've seen it before."

Avery's gaze drifts to Ethan. The warmth of the day still lingers in the air but the sand has cooled with the fading sun; she sprawls her fingers through it before reaching her hand out, nudging his. Letting her palm melt into his as his fingers close around hers, she raises her brows and he nods.

Placing her free palm in the sand, she gets to her feet. "We're taking off."

Lea's eyes trail her movements as she sidesteps Mr Crocodile to grab her beach bag. "Now?"

A few splashes sound from the water, accompanied by happy shouts, where more than a few students have taken it upon themselves to go for a late evening swim.

"Yeah."

"You can't ditch Ditch Day!"

"It's almost over."

"What about the sunset?"

Avery blows a bubble of her gum, a soft ocean breeze lifting her hair as it trickles by, and repeats Callie's words. "We've seen it before."

Another moment passes by, a few words exchanged before Avery and Ethan bid their goodbyes. Walking along the shore, Avery lets her flats dangle from her fingertips as they leave their friends behind – lips twitching into a faint smile as Ethan relieves her of her bag.

She glances out at the dark waters and the setting sun, knowing they'll arrive at his at the perfect time to make good on their promise of movie night to Ella.

"Do you have M&M's at your place?"

"Yeah."

Her cheeks warm with her smile as he brushes a kiss to her temple. "Good."

. . .

hi hello my friends!

you have no idea how good it felt to return to the beach, I always loved that part of writing the summer chapters.

I hope you enjoyed this little sweet one, we're truly beginning to close out the story now and I'm low-key freaking out but it's fun at the same time.

for the millionth time I'm sure, thank you for showing up and being so kind over and over.

much love, always yours

linn