Lights, Cameras, Love

Chapter 5. | The Sand & Sea

It was July 17th of my senior year, in other words, it was my favorite holiday. It was my birthday. Because of this, my mom decided to bring me and Theo to our favorite place to go over the summertime. The beach house. After all, I am a summer baby and because of that the summertime was my time to shine, it always has been and it most definitely always will be.

All year me and Theo have been planning my birthday and how I wanted to possibly spend it. But now that's it today I knew there was no other way to spend it other than with him. I decided to let him know that I wouldn't be throwing any extra parties so he wouldn't get dressed for a nonexistent event but I didn't exactly let him know my other plans either.

If I'm being honest I have no clue what I want to do but I do know that a nice shower sounds nice right about now. The humidity at the beach always made me feel sweaty and disgusting so god knows I would be glad to come home at the end of the day and take a nice cool shower. I pick out some nice cozy clothes, a soft sweatshirt that was a few sizes too big because Theo gave it to me in our freshman year.

Even though I could technically go without pants I pair my sweatshirt with some shorts as well, because as much as I hate it, I'm not alone in this house. I turn the knob to a warm temperature and I drop my clothes on the counter standing completely naked now. I don't even dare to look in the mirror knowing the outcome wouldn't be too good.

I lather the soap on every inch of my body and I rise it off with the water just as every other time I take a shower. The warm temperature of the water coats my skin and I tilt my head into the water making my eyes flutter shut. Whenever I don't like something it knocks me straight into a trance and sometimes I can get lost in these trances.

They can also just come from just brain signals and typically it sends bad thoughts throughout my whole body. I don't know why it happens, no one knows why it happens but I can't control it. I can cope with them though but mostly alone. I told Theo about them and now, when it happens and he's around he always helps me get through them. He's the only one who tried to help me.

The water drops on my face and it snaps me out of my trance. That's enough showering for today. I slide the glass shower door over and step out onto the floor. I begin drying my hair, and my body, and as soon as I'm done I wrap the towel around my body securing it at the top. I blow my hair out, after all it is my big 17th. I straighten it out completely, once I'm done I look in the mirror once more. And for the first time in a while, I'm happy with how I look.

I grab a small piece of paper and I fold it in half. I open up the card from its folded form and I grab my favorite pen. It was a silk black ink-colored pen that my dad gifted me to study with. According to my father, it was filled with good luck and right now on my birthday that's exactly what I needed. I grabbed these supplies not thinking about why I grabbed them but soon the perfect idea came right to my mind.

I begin to write in small letters, 'My room in the next five' with a small smiley face towards the right corner. And yes I could've texted him this but oddly that wasn't what came to mind when you think about talking to him. It wasn't the same as getting to see those dimples of his when he talks. I walk out to his room which was only 2 rooms away from mine, I place the folded card under his door and knock two times.

I speed walked back to my room and I decided to get comfortable in my bed placing blankets that would most likely be stolen from me over my body. I hear two knocks on my door before it slowly opens and I see Theo standing in my doorway. Neither of us speak it was just silence. I pat the space beside me letting him know he could have a seat and get comfortable like me too.

He pulls over the blankets and places himself under them as well. I turn on one of our favorites since we were little, My girl. Even though we usually both end up tearing up every time we watch it together, it didn't matter because the scenes were sad and deserving of a few tears. He throws his arm over my shoulder pulling me closer to his body which was surprisingly warm already, I place my head on his shoulder that felt more like a pillow at the moment.

I feel my eyes growing heavy but before I could completely doze off I speak for the first time since he came in here. "Hey Theo" my voice sounds much fainter than I expected but there's nothing I could do now nor could I truly help it. I feel him turn his head and look at me, I could tell he was tired too. "What happens once we both go on our separate ways one day" I keep my eyes trained on the tv screen even though I rather look at him when he responds.

For the next few heartbeats, all I can hear and feel is his gentle breathing on my skin. He wasn't frantic, scared, or even acting like he didn't know what to say. He was just as calm as ever. Like he knew everything was going to work out but we both knew that wasn't necessarily true. He lets out a small sigh before responding, "Victoria I don't think we'll ever truly separate from each other" he pauses but I know he isn't finished speaking yet.

"We might not see each other for some time but.." he searches for the right words like he's trying to fight the thought of being separated and maybe never speaking to each other again. He takes a sharp breath in before continuing like he washing away the bad thoughts, I wish I could do that. "But trust me, I will wait for when the time comes, like the sand outside that window over there waits for the sea to come back every day" his voice, his words, everything in this moment felt right.

I wrap my arms around his torso and squeeze gently to let him know something that I didn't know what to even call myself. He takes the arm that was placed over my shoulder and places it on my head ruffling my hair just a bit. The silence let me tell he was dozing off now so I let my eyelids flutter shut. Before either of us could completely fall asleep I feel his lips press against my hair and two words escape his mouth.

"Happy birthday" and with that, I fall into a deep and comforting sleep. I think I slept better knowing Theo was right by my side even if I couldn't necessarily see him right there. He would always be my safety net, my person, and if I'm being honest the only person I see myself still talking to in the next 40 years.

| ♡︎ |
AAAAA, okay first of all this was so much fun to write I genuinely love Theo right now. I hope all of these characters grow on you and you love them all in your own way. Thank you for reading it means the word.
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