Chapter 6: 3 | water(s)

Avery jumps high with a shriek as a hand lands on on her shoulder.

She whirls to her side, heart thumping in her chest as she tries to decide whether she should turn around back home and quicken her step or stop to fight whoever's decided to target her. As she sees the grinning face beside her she tears her earphones out.

Fight. Definitely fight.

"You can't just appear out of nowhere like that!" She scowls.

"I called your name but you didn't hear me–"

"And the first brilliant idea that came to mind was to sneak up on me?" Avery's panting breaths slow slightly as she puts her hand to her hip. "Okay, rule number one: If you see someone you know out running, by themselves, on a deserted road," She gestures vaguely to their surroundings with her other hand. "You do not just pop up by their side – or touch them for that matter."

A sheepish smile appears on Ethan's lips. "Well when you put it like that," He rubs a hand through his hair. "At least now we know your stress response works like it should though."

Avery shoots him a glare, but as she does she can't help but to let her eyes swiftly gaze over him – noting his sport apparel, runner shoes and earphones dangling from the pocket of his soccer shorts. Her hand flies up to her hair, pulling at the strands of hair that have loosened themselves from the ponytail, grimacing at the sticky feeling of her skin. As he cocks his head to the side with a grin she quickly drops her arm back to her side, frowning at the amusement crossing his eyes.

"I didn't know you're a runner."

"I'm not," She shifts in her stance, crossing her arms only to uncross them again. "Well I am. But not like... on a team or- You could say it's a hobby."

"Seems like we run into each other everywhere," She rolls her eyes as his grin widens. "Get it? Cause we're both out running?"

"I got it," Avery's hand comes back up to her hair, releasing her ponytail from the hair tie before pushing her fingers through the blonde thickness. Her breath has slowed down but her heart's still beating hard from being startled. "You're everywhere. I'm beginning to think you're stalking me or something."

"Excuse you?" A dry chuckle escapes Ethan's lips as he scoffs. "If anything you're stalking me. Working for my mom and all."

"I didn't even know Anna's your mother." Avery points out.

"My name is literally on the letterhead."

"What?"

"T.H Publishing? Taylor Harrison Publishing."

"Oh," Avery's brows etches together, not having realized at all what the name of the publishing house was short for or that it was short for anything in the first place – to be honest she hasn't paid much thought to the name at all. She pulls at her hair, twisting it back up into a knot. "Well, I'm not stalking you."

"Likewise," Ethan weighs back on his feet. "Sorry I scared you."

She waves her hand dismissively. "Wasn't that bad."

"I've never seen anyone jump that high, so yes it was," As she shrugs his lips pull into a small smile. "So, where are you headed next?"

"I'm taking left up there," She points. "Why?"

"Well, it happens so am I. You wanna run together?"

She narrows her eyes. "Why?"

"Why not?"

She eyes him, biting back the retort lingering on her tongue. She ponders whether she can change direction but that would mess up her entire route. She's not about to let Ethan Taylor be the reason her run doesn't work out as she wants it too. Pressing her tongue to the roof of her mouth, she surprises herself by nodding.

"Okay. Sure," Turning on her heel she begins to jog, throwing a look over her shoulder as the corners of her mouth twitch. "If you think you can keep up."

♡♡♡

Avery throws a confused glance over her shoulder as she realizes Ethan is no longer panting by her side, seeing that he's come to a stop a distance away. She lets her gaze follow his as he looks out over the still water of the ocean. The sun rays reflect themselves onto it's surface, somehow intensifying the green-bluish shade of it. She releases her hair from the hair tie, walking over to him.

"You're one hell of a runner," He states, casting her a sideways glance. She merely shrugs as a response. "Why aren't you on any of the sport teams?"

"I guess I've never really been the athletic type."

He gazes out over the ocean again, beautiful in it's peaceful stillness – reaching into the infinite, no end in sight. Quite a contrast to the thundering waves usually smashing up onto the beach.

"You want to go for a swim before we carry on?"

"Uh," Avery wraps her arms around herself, skin prickling from the ocean wind on this unusually cold summer's day. She shivers at the mere thought. "I'd rather not."

"Coward."

"You can still do it," She nods towards the water, raising her brows. "Be my guest. I'll wait."

"Is this your way of saying you want to see me shirtless?" He smirks. "Because you can just ask you know."

Internally scolding herself for the warmth creeping onto her cheeks, hoping it's not evident in color as well, she averts her eyes back to the blue and green melting together. "Don't flatter yourself."

"You're kinda cute when you blush."

She shoots him a sideway glance, growing even more flustered as she crosses her arms over her chest. It's not the first time they've found themselves in this sort of banter but she's not about to engage in it even more. "Are you getting in today or...?"

"Nah, if you don't want to do it we should get going," He says. "Unless there's a way to convince you to get in with me?"

His words make it too easy and has Avery spinning on her heel, flashing him a devilish smile. Her eyes creases as she stifles a chuckle.

"Now who's the one to want the clothes to come off?"

"Oh for fuck's sake."

Before she knows it, Avery finds herself swept up into Ethan's arms, floundering her legs where she hangs over his shoulder. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

She sees the sand grow darker and darker beneath them. It slowly crosses over into water, getting deeper and deeper.

"No, no, no," She bangs her fists on his back, internally scolding herself for laughing – there's nothing funny about this situation Avery. "Set me down. Taylor I swear to – AAAAH!"

The water engulfs her a second later, drenching her clothes and staining her eyes with the saltness. Breaking the surface she finds him watching her with a grin, water up to his waistline where he's stood a short distance away. She scowls between the laughter involuntarily escaping her lips at the shock, pushing her hair back.

Her hands ball into fists. "You. Are. So. Dead."

He folds over then, a loud cackling guffaw escaping his lips. Her lips twist into a smile as she spots her chance and she breaks into a sprint, jumping onto his back and brings them down.

As they break the surface, the shock written one his face has her falling backwards into the water and she's sure the hysterical laughter escaping her lips is the most unflattering sound to have ever graced the earth.

She forgets to float though and soon sinks beneath the surface, inhaling an involuntarily gulp of water. As Ethan grabs her hand to help her up she coughs loudly between the laughter she still cannot suppress.

The corners of his mouth twitches and she can tell from the way his cheeks tighten that he's trying to hold back laughter of his own – it's an expression she's caught him making more than a few times through the years when they somehow find themselves in conversation with one another. He rolls his lips in before asking, "You okay?"

"Yeah," She pushes him lightly in the chest, attempting to bite back another round of laughter but fails. "God, what got into you?"

♡♡♡

"Mom?"

"In the kitchen!"

Avery kicks her – still soaked through – runner shoes off and pads down the hallway. Sarah peers up from the mess of papers and files in front of her as her daughter appears in the room, clothes and hair still damp. Confused she glances out the window.

"Is it raining outside?"

"No."

"Then what–"

Avery shakes her head, internally scolding herself for smile slipping onto her lips. "Long story."

Sarah regards her daughter for another beat before seeming to decide it's best to leave it at that, instead gathering her work into a neat stack, clicking her pen and placing it on top of it. "What do we do about dinner?"

"Do we have anything edible in the fridge?"

"I wouldn't think so no. But I'm quite fed up with others' cooking to be honest."

Avery walks over to the sink, getting a cup out of the cabinet and filling it with water. "We could go grocery shopping."

Sarah grimaces, leaning forward to stretch her arms behind her back. "Tomorrow," She says eventually. "What do you want if we're getting takeout?"

"Pizza?"

"Again?"

"Or not."

Avery crosses the kitchen, grabbing one of the discarded papers in front of her mother, tearing the bottom piece off and begins to fold a fortune teller – something she learnt how to do again for the first time since pre school one desperate night a couple of weeks ago when she worried about her upcoming trip in July, especially the part of being able to relate to the three kids coming along. She smooths out one of the corners as it crinkles, brows etching together as she regards it.

"No, no. Pizza's fine," Sarah says, fingers tapping against the stack of papers. "I should probably get some more of this done but I can go fetch them afterwards."

"I'll go," Avery says, setting the fortune teller down. "I just have to shower first."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I've got it."

♡♡♡

With how neat Sarah keeps their house it's hard to believe the Mini Cooper parked in their driveway belongs to her as well. Avery adjusts the seat in the bubblegum smelling vehicle, getting the radio – and air condition – going.

The floor of the passenger seat has sprawls of said gum paper all over it, the passenger seat itself has what looks like the content of an emptied purse sprawled across it and Avery doesn't have to glance over her shoulder to know the backseat is made up of components contributing to the clutter – such as two pairs of shoes, a discarded gym bag, various folders and a winter coat that's yet to make it way into the house since being left in the backseat at the end of February.

♡♡♡

She has barely stepped onto the pavement as a hand laces around her wrist.

"Avery, hi!"

Turning around she sees Anna at one of the tables in the outdoor-seating. Ella's sat next to her, busy with the crayons provided by the restaurant and a man sits opposite them, his smile mirroring Anna's. "Oh, hello."

Anna introduces Avery to Paul – her husband – and a somewhat awkward chuckle escapes her lips as Paul says he's heard great things about her.

"Are you having dinner?"

"Picking up some pizzas."

"We changed places this time around," Anna jokes. "After seeing you and your mom here I couldn't shake the thought of having dinner here – it's so nice."

"It really is."

After a minute or two of small talk, Avery continues into the restaurant. She leans against the bar counter waiting for their pizzas, reaching for her phone in her pocket to find a more than a few notifications awaiting her on the screen.

'let's not tell dumb & dumber this chat exists'

Calliope: Lea's on a date again.

Calliope: I'm alone AGAIN.

Calliope: Wish you were here Ave.

Lea: it's one dreary date if that helps

Lea: i swear i'm gonna fall asleep of boredom soon

Calliope: Serves you right for running around with all these guys.

Lea: are you slutshaming me ms montgomery?

Calliope: No I'm shaming you for running around with them when you should be running around with me.

A smile pulls at Avery's lips as she types.

there's an idea i could get behind

calliope & leandra camila sitting in a tree

Calliope: She's alive!!

Calliope: ALSO THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT

hey no take backs

Lea: yeah cal no take backs

Lea: oh god if one of you don't call me to fake an emergency in the next three minutes we are no longer friends

Calliope: On it.

With a small shake of her head as a silent laugh escapes her lips Avery's about to open up the Instagram app but decides against it as she knows it'll only lead to aimless scrolling and drops the phone back into one of the two pockets of her striped sundress.

She wrenches her hands together in a stretch in front of her, gaze flickering seamlessly over the room only to stop at someone coming around the corner at the end of it. Great. She wraps her arms around herself, bringing her cardigan closer knit to her body as his lips part in surprise but is soon overcome by a grin as he weaves through the tables.

"I thought you said you aren't stalking me." He says, leaning against the counter next to her.

Two boxes of pizza are placed on the counter in that very same moment. "Here you go miss."

"Thank you." Avery turns around, taking the boxes into her hands. She pointedly ignores Ethan's remark – she has engaged with him enough already and it's time she puts a stop to it. She thanks the waiter again before heading for the door only to have Ethan follow behind. Of course he follows behind, his family is seated outside after all.

"Are you pissed about the whole dropping you into the water thing?" He asks, his hand coming to her shoulder to stop her in her tracks. "Because I got to say I thought that was quite funny."

She holds back the urge to roll her eyes, pressing her lips together to stop the smile threatening to curl onto them and casts him a sideway glance. "I simply want to get home before these get cold."

"We should run together sometime again soon."

She presses her tongue to the roof of her mouth, shaking her head. "No we shouldn't."

"Why? Hell with the way you run I should probably make you my PT."

"You know why," She adjusts her hold on the boxes. Then, on a second thought, she adds. "As if this isn't your new way of getting under Luke's skin."

It's something that's been lingering on the back of her mind ever since she stepped into the shower and now that the thought is there she doesn't seem able to shake it – not even by speaking the words aloud.

There's more of a challenge to his eyes than hurt as Ethan cocks his brow and asks, "You really think that low of me?"

In her pocket her phone vibrates and she holds onto the pizza boxes as she slides it out, glancing down at the screen to see an incoming FaceTime call from Callie. She flickers her eyes between the screen and Ethan before declining the call, dropping the phone back into her pocket as she shakes her head.

"I don't think of you."