Escape | Updated Weekly

8

 Mac opened up the car door and got inside. "Wanna pick the music?" he asked. Instead of a fitted radio he had a touch screen. I guessed his phone was hooked up to it with bluetooth. I scrolled through his playlists. I didn't expect him to have such a wide variety of music taste. But I guess it came with him being a musician himself. I picked one that I knew and he suddenly started singing at the top of his lungs and turned the music to full volume. I laughed and joined in with him. It was like we was having our very own version of 'carpool karaoke'

I was stunned as we grew closer to our destination. We had been driving for about an hour and the sky had gone dark. Mac turned a corner. Right in front of us there was the ocean. I had never been to the ocean at night before. The view was unlike anything I had seen before. Which sounds really lame. But until now I hadn't gotten out that much.

Mac parked up on the sea front and offered his spare jacket to me. I accepted it gratefully, taking another piece of his clothing. We got out of the car and Mac led the way straight onto the beach. The stones crunching underneath us. I struggled to keep up with his pace, my feet sinking into the ground. We stopped as close to the sea as we could. "It looks so pretty" I breathed. We stood there for a while, just taking it all in. It had grown dark during the drive here and the moon was full, shining brightly which reflected into the sea. Tides were coming in but they were calm. Peaceful to listen to.

The chilly air didn't even bother me now. How could it be when I'm staring at such a simple but beautiful view? Mac bent down and picked up a couple of stones. He handed one to me. "Alright let's see how good that throw is". He pulled back his arm and threw the rock. It spun in the air and skidded across the water before finally it got taken by the waves. I got ready to throw mine. Just like Mac I pulled back my arm trying to copy his motion and flung the rock into the air. Only, mine barely made it past the first wave before it sank. Mac laughed and shrugged his shoulders. "Good attempt I guess". I nudged him and we sat down after a couple more attempts. Every time Mac's went far and every time mine were massive failures. Mac pulled out two cans of coke from his pocket and passed one to me, the can feeling just as cold and the cool air that washed over us. "This is where I come sometimes. Just to be on my own or to clear my head. Hell sometimes just because I feel like it. I thought you might like it as well" Clearly he did come here often.

"I love it. I was an amazing idea"

"Yeah well... I figured you needed it". I knew he was referring to my date. I still didn't wanna talk about it. Mac and his sister's helped cheer me up after it all, talking about now would just ruin it.

"I guess... We're quite similar, we just like peace and quiet" 

The more time I spent with him the more I realized we had in common and how alike we actually are.

"Sometimes it's better. I love being around people but it can be too much"

"We sound so depressing"

"Nah'' I replied. "We just see things differently from everyone else". A cold breeze came over us and it made me shiver. "Cold?" Mac lifted up his arm inviting me in. I don't know if our friendship has reached the level of platonic cuddling. But another cold breeze and I didn't care. I moved up closer to him and he wrapped his arms around me. Instantly making me feel warmer. I could feel his warm breath hit the top of my head and I rested it against his shoulder. He felt comfortable to be wrapped in. "I'm glad we're friends''. He said it quietly. Almost like he didn't mean to say it out loud. I was taken back by the term. If someone had asked me this morning what my relationship with Mac was I would have said we're just acquainted. And now after just a few hours of hanging out we seemed to have fully turned it around. Once again he helped me out of a horrible situation, then he made me forget it ever happened at all. 

"Mac, how did you know about Vienna?" I know he had said that 'a little birdy' told him about my favourite song, but I was curious how that even came up in conversation. So I just had to ask. "Tom talked about you all the time" he replied. "It felt like I already knew you without ever having to meet you and for some reason that particular fact just kinda got stuck in my head". I had no idea that Tom had told them so much about me, but then again he used to tell me about them all the time too. 

I thought about  how he had told me that once I got to know Mac I would see him differently. I couldn't help but feel as if I had seen a side to him then barely anyone ever saw. I could have been wrong, but for now that's what I was gonna stick with.

"Sometimes I'd love to know what you're thinking about so deeply," Mac laughed. I hadn't even noticed that he'd been watching me. "What do you keep hidden in there all day?" he tapped my forehead. "Trust me, that's not a can of worms that you want to open". I pulled away slightly but kept close enough that I could still use his body warmth as my personal heater. "You're the same. Sometimes you're so closed off from people that they even wonder if they really know you" Mac sighed. "By people do you mean the boys?". I nodded. "Tom says he only got to know you as well as what he does because of your songs. But other than that you never talk about personal stuff". Mac scratched behind his ear and fiddled with his glasses. He was slightly uncomfortable and trying to stall.

"yeah... I guess that's true"

He seemed to go back to being a little closed off again. Maybe I was pushing too much. I wanted to ask about his family, well more his Dad than anything, but I figured from his response he wouldn't wanna talk about it.

"I'm freezing and my arse hurts from sitting on these stones" Mac announced. "Let's grab some food"

He helped me back to the car joking that it'd be quicker if he carried me. "If I wait for you to stop sinking we'll be here all night". 

He turned the heating to full blast and we took off for our journey home. We decided we'd stop at the service station on the way back for food. The issue was trying to decide what we wanted as we drove past them. I suggested Mcdonalds but he said it was too 'boring' of a choice. He wanted chicken but I can't stand eating chicken on the bone. In the end we thought it best to stop at a supermarket and just buy snacks to eat in the car.

The rest of the car ride we didn't talk much . We exchanged a few words about the songs that came on or the food we'd bought. By the time we got back to the house it was late, however the living room lights were still on. We came through the front door to see that all the boys were still awake and playing some sort of video game on the TV.

"Whey hey" called Danii as he saw the two of us enter together. "I hope there's not been any conoodling going on,'' he pointed a finger between us both. Trying and failing to tell us of. Tom shot me a look. I mouthed 'tell you later' to him not wanting to talk about Lyle right now. I needed to avoid the subject quickly. "Don't be silly" I said and ruffled Danii's hair. "Strictly no house mate sex is allowed. It's rule number one". Brandon faked being annoyed and turned to Danii, "Dammit. That means my plans to seduce you tonight were a total waste". Danii burst into laughter and threw the packet of crisps he was eating in his direction but completely missed Brandon. "You fucking wish" he said. "I don't care what you lot do as long as you don't keep me up at night" announced Mac joining in. He sat himself down on the sofa and stole Brandon's controller to play the game. ''says the guy who thinks it's appropriate to play his guitar at 2 am because a song idea just 'came to him'' ' Tom pulled a silly face as he said it and laughed along with the others. They continued to banter and make fun of each other. I looked at them all. Four different individuals all under the same roof as me. And most of the time it didn't matter how different we were or how we were brought up. I was grateful to have met every single one of them.