neptune [ jj maybank ]

1

ONE What's crackin', good lookin'?

—

Zephyr loved the beach in the summer. Loved how hot the sand felt between his toes, how the sun turned his skin different shades of pinks and reds over time. He loved the sounds of the Seagulls above him, the waves crashing against the sand.

It reminded him of home, back in Australia. Where the sand was too hot to walk on sometimes and the sun was brutal, even with sun cream and shade to shelter yourself. Where the only time you heard Seagulls was when they weren't stealing your hot chips and the waves would roll in with the wind.

He misses home. He misses their beach trips. Where his older sister, Zoey, would spend most of her time surfing and him and his little sister, Zahra, would have competitions to build the biggest sandcastle with his mum being the judge. His dad would be off down the beach somewhere, collecting cool shells, dead coral and cuttle bones and cheering Zoey on.

It isn't like that here; he thinks with a frown as he stares out over the ocean. The suns setting, only half an hour and it'll be completely dark. The boneyard is bustling behind him, and he thinks he can hear Olivers voice louder than everyone else's as they scream the lyrics to some Hannah Montana song.

He finishes off the beer in his hand and joins back in with the party. Bhodi throws his arm around his shoulders the second he spots him, bringing him in close and ruffling his hair. Zephyr swats him away, laughing.

"What's up, Mopey Moperson? Have fun moping?" Bhodi teases as he lets go of his friend. Zephyr scoffs as he leans down and grabs a beer from the eski beside him.

"I was not moping."

"Mm..." he pretends to look like he's thinking, "you were definitely moping," Bhodi says with a cheeky grin.

"Fuck off, man," Zephyr shoves him away, but its lightheaded and said with a smile. He opens his beer and takes a mouth full, face scrunching up the second the taste hits his tastebuds. He spits it out, narrowly missing some Pogues shoes.

"Blegh, that's fuckin' rank. Here, man," He hands the beer over to Bhodi and goes back to the Eski to grab another. This time he goes for something with vodka instead of a beer.

When he turns back around Bhodi's gone, and when he looks around, he spots the other flirting with some touron. He shakes his head with a laugh and joins Oliver.

An hour passes and Zephyr's positively drunk. He blames it on Oliver for practically feeding him alcohol.

He's lying in the sand somewhere close to the party, at least he thinks he's close to the party. It sounds loud from where he is, but everything sounds loud when he's drunk so he can't be too sure just how close he is. He stares up at the night sky, watching as a satellite passes over their heads.