~Just The Beginning~

One Month Later

"I feel like I'm melting," I said, wiping my forehead as we ventured further down the paved path. It was the middle of June, and today, the sun was especially beating down. It didn't help that the hike was all orange-red sand and decorated by little bushes and pokey plants. Desert much?

"That was actually my goal today- to turn you into a human Popsicle. I can see it's working," Jaxon quipped, straight-faced. I scoffed, punching his beefy arm muscle, and got a small smile in return.

"You should be careful. There are rattlesnakes in this area, according to the sign, and I heard their favorite dish is arrogant bad boys." Jaxon rolled his eyes, looking at me with a smug face.

"And where did you hear that?" I shrugged, stumbling over a rock jammed into the dirt.

"Personal experience... did I ever tell you about my very first boyfriend?" Jaxon stopped, and whipped around in his tracks, grinning.

"I thought I was your one and only!" He exclaimed, pouting.

"Er...No, that's where you're wrong. I actually have quite a colorful dating history," I replied carefully, playing up a guilty conscience. Not that I could fool him. Jaxon was well aware of his only competition, my boyfriend of about 57.2 hours, not that it really counts. Unlike him, I was all very new and experienced to this whole relationship thing. Pretty sure he gets a kick out of that.

"Mmhmm. Make sure to tell me the gruesome details later," He said, clearly knowing there was no such thing.

"We'll see," I retorted, starting forward ahead of him. He cracked up, jogging a little to catch up with my speedier pace. The trail leveled out a little, remaining on a slight decline, and began curving to the left.

"Hey, I thought we agreed I lead," Jaxon complained, trying to get a couple steps in front of me. I cut him off, jumping in front.

"No, we're taking turns! Plus, you're kind of a sucky leader. You don't even warn me about rocks or deadly bugs or.... old couples," I argued with a smirk, referring to early when we started running and accidentally crashed into a poor old lady. Don't worry, we helped her back up and sincerely apologized, although it didn't get rid of the embarrassment. Jaxon frowned playfully.

"Hmm... you have a point, but allowing someone as uncoordinated as you lead the way? Let's think this through." A mock worried expression was painted on his face. I shook my head with a smile, taking the leader position.

"Nah, I'd rather get going." I took off down the hill, taking easy confident strides forward. Jaxon immediately followed close behind, a little too close, in my opinion.

"I'll be right behind you... just in case," He whispered in my ear. I shook him off, continuing down the path. For the fiftieth time, I turned my head and looked out at the ocean stretching across the horizon. The sun was gleaming off it, and the faint sound of the shore was music to my ears. I was so ready to dive into the cool glossy water, and I probably would as soon as we got down this infinite hill.

It was when I was distracted, looking out at the scenery, that (of course) the hill steepened. There was a small drop, and just as I looked back at the trail, I lost control. The sand slid underneath me, and I tripped forward, about to fall flat on my face. Jaxon's hands shot out to stop me, but instead I fell the other way, taking him with me. We both landed on the ground, with me on my butt with a slightly bruised tailbone, and him falling painfully on his chest.

"Bay," He groaned, putting his hands on the sand, and slowly sitting up. Yes, I can take the blame for this one. Will I admit that to Jaxon? Nope. I slowly stood up, holding out my hand for him.

"Thanks for breaking my fall," I said with a hint of sarcasm. He pretended to let me help him up, but really just used his legs and did all the work. Once he stood tall over me, I laughed, brushing the dirt off his chest. He smiled down at me, and while I attempted to clean him up, his hand brushed onto my cheek. I met his glistening brown eyes. The look in them told me his concentration wasn't on his aching chest anymore. His face moved in, and I watched as his eyes fluttered close.

"We better keep moving." I giggled, turning and leaving him standing there. Rejected! His hand flew out and caught mine, trying to tug me back. His expression was confused.

"Come on, we're almost there!" I demanded. Jaxon shook his head, and laced his fingers through mine, trying to pull me back. I started walking instead, towing him with me.

"Ugh, fine," He said in defeat, falling into step beside me. I hummed as we walked the rest of the way down the trail hand in hand. Even though this was nothing new, his hand around mine still managed to make me all giddy inside.

We finally reached the beach, and I ran the short distance to the rocky cliff area, letting go of Jaxon's hand. He chased after me, kicking up a mini whirlwind of sand in the process. There was a long ledge where the cliff cut in and created a nice shaded strip. Beyond that, the cliff wrapped around and ran the rest of the way down the beach. Then it came to a small gap between the end of the ledge and a gigantic rock that went all the way beyond the shallows of the ocean. It stooped low by the ledge and continued to rise up. Waves splashed and sprayed against it, making it all shiny and creating little tide pools where aquatic plants and crabs resided. I'd been down here once hiking with my dad, but that was ages ago, and the faint memory doesn't measure up to the actual place.

"Don't slip, or fall, or do anything else that could injure us both," Jaxon told me from behind as I climb-crawled up the rock.

"Wouldn't dream of it," I stated simply. He followed me up the rock, keeping his arms ready in case I did any more falling. Jeez, I could do without Jaxon inspecting my every move. I'm not that clumsy.

I made it to the ledge easily enough, and shuffled over to the shady part, sitting down. A couple seagulls dove over head into little crevices in the rock, seeking shade with me. Jaxon took off his backpack and plopped against the rock next to me, leaning back against it. It felt good to be out of the sun.

"Whew, well, we made it alive," I said. He took a moment to look around at the beach and the waves sloshing around.

"This place is cool," He admitted, pushing his hair up out of his eyes.

"Yeah, we should make this our spot," I leaned back against the chilly rock, "Okay, I can't wait any longer. Feed me." Jaxon laughed at my cry for help, unzipping the backpack and whipping out the gold. He tossed me a water bottle, and I gulped half of it down the first sip. Pulling out the rest of the picnic stuff, he set the backpack aside.

"Check this out." Jaxon stood up, laying down a classy red checkered blanket. I cracked up, hoping water didn't come streaming out of my nose or something. Isn't that effective. Because decor is always a top priority to Jaxon.

"Really? Wow Jaxon, you've truly outdone yourself." He sat back down next to me, our knees touching, and arranged the contents of our lunch across the picnic blanket.

"What a nice selection of junk food," I muttered. He had thrown in potato chips, licorice, chocolate covered pretzels, coca cola, Cheez-its, hot tamales, chips ahoy, Oreos, powdered doughnuts, sour straws, a couple nerd ropes, hostess cupcakes, and my personal favorite- gummy worms. When everything was nice and organized, I reached for the treasured gummy worms, but he snatched it away before I got my hands on it.

"Hey! You gotta share those!" I exclaimed, getting ready to fight for them. He chuckled, holding them out to the side, just out of reach.

"No, you said specifically to feed you." Jaxon stared at me, waiting for the words to sink in. Oh, well that's a very literal way of interpreting it. I rolled my eyes, blushing a bit.

"If you insist." He opened the bag, and I watched him whip out one of the worms. Jaxon held it in the air to let the suspense build, and with a smile, crept closer on the rock. As soon as he put it in my mouth, I snorted, and then broke down into laughter. This is too weird, even for me.

"Thanks, but I think I can take it from here," I told him when I was finished dying. Throughout our picnic, we only argued once over the last powdered doughnut, and who's idea it was to eat all the hot tamales in one mouthful. Overlooking the minor bickering, I'd say we had a successful day so far. This was definitely turning into the best day of the summer yet, even though every day seems to top the last one with Jaxon being around to spice it up.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, I actually need your advice," Jaxon asked me out of nowhere. We were both stuffed beyond maximum capacity. I was naturally leaning on his shoulder while his arm was slung around me.

"Yeah, sure. Shoot," I said lazily, releasing a delighted sigh. His free hand started playing with mine, and I could suddenly sense that whatever it was, it was important.

"So, I've been thinking about a lot of things lately...." He started out cautiously, staring blankly ahead. I turned to face him, wondering what would come next.

"Well, mostly about.... my, uh, dad." He paused, cautious to see my reaction. What happened that night, with Jaxon's dad, is still branded in my memory. I don't think I'll ever get it out of my head. I'd never been so scared in my life. Bringing it up still sends a shudder through me, but I'm trying to put it behind me. Well, behind us.

"Yeah?" I said softly, trying to appear indifferent.

"Look, I know he's a di-" I coughed in the middle of his sentence, cutting him off before he said something naughty. Jaxon looked down at me and flashed a smile.

"-A bad guy. But I feel like I need to go visit him." I gasped without thinking. Why? I know he'd be behind bars and sobered up, but after years of tormenting and abuse, and that night where he nearly killed his own son.....what would make Jaxon want to visit him? He dove into an explanation, probably predicting my reaction.

"I know I shouldn't. But I can't just sit here and wonder what my dad would say to me now, if he had the chance. I have to hear what he has to say. And I'm not expecting some big reunion where we cry and make up and he promises to change his ways. I just need to give him the chance, even if he doesn't deserve it." Jaxon stared off into space, and I knew this would be really hard for him. This entire past month he's been a little shaken up from the horrid events. Plus he can't really accept that his dad is in prison.

"If you think it'll help...." I trailed off. It's not something Jaxon can avoid forever, and maybe it really will help him to get past all of this. After a rough couple weeks of court and figuring out where to stay and trauma that I can't even comprehend, maybe confronting the cause of it all will allow Jaxon to really move forward. I'm sick of watching him act tough about everything he's gone through, because it's ridiculous. Nobody can survive all of that and come out of it unaffected.

"You know what? I'm coming with you," I added on impulse. Jaxon sat up, staring me down in the eye. I was suddenly completely sure of my decision. It only made sense that I go with him. Jaxon shouldn't have to do it alone, and he's always complaining that he's too comfortable around me. Plus, these days, we're kind of a team. I don't go anywhere without Jaxon by my side to annoy me.

"Are... you serious?" Jaxon sounded unconvinced.

"Dead serious. Do you see this face? It's my Dead Serious face," I tried not to smile, but it was too hard with him gazing at me, "I want to. You're not going to go alone. And don't try to talk me out of it." The guy's got issues when it comes to people wanting to help him. He thinks he can do everything on his own.... So annoying.

After a bit of silence, he relaxed back against the rock, and pulled me close to his side.

"Thanks," he mumbled, just loud enough so I could hear it. I gently rested my head on his chest, hoping I wouldn't make him uncomfortable. We stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other's company. I truly felt like there were no filters or barriers between us; we were just simply ourselves.

Time must have passed, because when I opened my eyes, the sun was hovering in the middle of the sky, casting even deadlier rays on the blazing white sand. I blocked the blinding rays with my hand, sitting up. Jaxon snapped out of his trance too, his big brown eyes darting back and forth, then over to me.

"We better get going soon," I announced, regretting the fact that we would have to leave this little scrap of paradise. I stood up, being hit with a wave of dizziness. As soon as the blotchy patches faded, I decided to go exploring onto the big rock, where the waves clashed and spat. Jaxon instinctively followed me where I went, probably feeling responsible if I got hurt, which was completely unnecessary.

"Oh crap.... How am I going to cross this," I debated, mostly to myself. There was just a tiny gap between the rock and the ledge, but for some reason, it was intimidating. The water kept rushing through, and even though it was only a feet or two deep, the rocks edge were jagged and threatening. Jaxon discovered the origin of my fear and laughed out loud.

"Really, Bailey? I thought you were braver than that." Oh great, his nuisance side is back. I made the movement of stepping forward, but came reeling back when my foot didn't easily reach the other side. Jaxon wasn't tapping his foot, but he had other ways of showing his impatience.

"Okay, let's speed things up a bit." He cut in front of me, hopping to the other side effortlessly. When he settled on the uneven rock, he turned back in my direction, extending both arms toward me. This was all the encouragement I needed. Without thinking any further, I jumped the distance onto the rock, away from Jaxon's open arms. He he... That's twice now I've turned down his romantic pursuits.

"Easy peasy," I mumbled, clambering up the rock to see off the edge. Jaxon let his arms drop with an audible smack, warily following me. Just like all those years ago, there were still little craters in the rock full of saltwater. I reached down to poke one of the squishy magenta sea anemones. The little tentacles folded in to trap my finger, and I squealed, wriggling my finger out of it.

I got to my feet just as another wave came colliding with the rock. A beautiful mist showered down on me and Jaxon. The accustomed taste of salt on my lips caused me to smile to myself. Seems I do a lot of smiling these days. I embraced the moisture, inching closer to the waters edge.

Another set of waves folded into the rock, causing a less innocent surge of water to soak us through. Jaxon let out a girly squeal, taking a step backward. I laughed, seeing him trying to fix the frizzy mess his dark hair was becoming. I squeezed out a little bit of water from my t shirt, and then continued on to the other side of the rock.

"Wow. Come look at this," I said in a serious tone, catching Jaxon's interest. He took a big stride toward me, following my gaze over the edge. In the water directly below the rock, where it was still decently shallow, there were three large fish circling around the area. Scratch that, they were sharks. Mingled with them were a few smaller fish, accompanied by a flurry of sand and rippling gray/white skin. There was a big stingray shooting around with excitement, it's potentially deadly tail dragging in the sand.

"Freaky. They must be having a feeding frenzy or something," I commented as we watched nature take it's course. I leaned closer over the edge, daringly, to get a better view. Jaxon placed a hand on my back. The tiny action caused me to shiver and lose my footing. My sneakers didn't have much traction, and my balance was thrown as my body tilted toward the water instead of away from it.

"Jaxon!" I said hastily, feeling nothing but air inviting me to take the fall. I'm going down. I can feel it. His hands spun me back up by the waist in one fluid motion. I stared at his face, breathing out. The sharks continued to writhe around in the water below. He unleashed a chuckle he had been holding back. In a snap, I was angry.

"Really? I could have fallen in! With the sharks! That's not even funny!" My scowl just made his smile grow.

"You are such an over-reactor. Relax," His voice was low and enticing. It made me skittish, and already my frown was fading. The effect of his voice just fed my frustration. He can't get away with scaring me half to death.

Amidst my stern inner struggle, Jaxon's beautiful face came closer to mine. My arms were already crossed, and I turned my head, resisting the desire to stop resisting. The water crashed against the rocks, as if agreeing with me.

"You really think I'd let you fall?" I didn't answer. His fingers gently turned my cheek towards him, and I was already liquefying under his warm touch. Those normally cocoa brown eyes looked ochre with the light shining into them. There goes my scowl. He gave me a distracted smile, as he traced the edge of my lip. My arms acted out of longing and rested on his shoulders.

"I still hate you," I argued weakly. Jaxon could see through its transparency as plain as day, and the statement just made him smirk. His eyes flickered back up from my lips. The look he was currently directing to me made me lighter than air itself, and dizzy with overwhelming adoration.

"Love you too," He said stupidly. Then he lifted me up to him, pressing his lips against mine. No more rejection. I kissed him back, feeling the world slipping away and the two of us growing even more inseparable.

There you have it folks, the much anticipated and yet tragic cessation of Jaxon's and Bailey's story. Le Boy In La Basement. If you are reading this, a huge fat Thahank you for enduring to the end of this book. Truly, my soul reaches out to you. And my sincere praises to all those who voted and commented and all throughout it. I really love em. I'm just gonna advertise now that I'm writing a Luke Hemmings fanfiction for all of y'all who are interested, though I'm trying to get most of it finished so I won't be a slow updater. Be sure to check it out! Trust me when I say that stories' gunna be gooood. Again, THANKS SO MUCH!!!! Wish you all the best of luck in your weird and extraordinary lives that lie ahead. CheeriO.