Third Person's P.O.V.
NSB pulled up to the beach as the sun was high in the sky. The water shimmered from the light, and the waves crashed along the shore. Today was a break after a demanding week filled with late-night recording sessions, interviews, and rehearsals. They had the opportunity to relax, have fun, and be carefree today.
As soon as they unloaded their gear, the group split off from each other. Oli and Ryan immediately found themselves at the edge of the shore, where the sand was just damp enough to hold its shape.
"We need to make the biggest sandcastle this beach has ever seen," Oli announced.
Ryan groaned. "Aren't we a little old for that?"
"Never too old to make a masterpiece," Oli countered, pulling out a little plastic bucket he'd found in the trunk of the van. "Let's go! I need a second pair of hands."
Ryan laughed at the sight of Oli and the bucket but he knelt down to dig up sand all the same. Together, they worked on building a castle with sand, rocks and stray seashells they found. They dug deep moat around it and every so often, Oli would critique Ryan's technique, only for Ryan to roll his eyes and laugh.
Nearby, Justin set up a beach chair and umbrella. He propped his feet up on their cooler as he read the book he brought. His sunglasses were resting on his head as he flipped the pages.
Regie glanced at him as he passed by. "You know we're at the beach, right? You're supposed to have fun, like going in the water or something bruh."
"Reading is fun," Justin replied without looking up. "Maybe you should try it sometime.
Regie gave a snort. "Thanks, I'll just keep digging holes. Kane, hurry up."
"The idea is to dig deep enough that someone falls in." Kane smiled and explained.
Justin only nodded along, watching them make their way further down the beach. Once the pair found a spot, they began digging with their hands, only to go back to the car to look for a shovel. They never found one. Instead, Regie took Olivers when he wasn't looking.
Down by the shore, Seb was in the water, splashing around. He went out further, letting waves push him around. He found himself jumping into the bigger waves, then resurfacing, just to have another one crash into him.
"Are you not coming in?" Seb shouted to Bae and Darren, who were watching him from the sand.
"It's freezing," Darren protested, his arms crossed. "I'll go in as far as my waist, and that's it. Non-negotiable."
"You're the worst!" Seb yelled, laughing as he splashed water at him.
Bae shrugged and followed Seb in, shaking his head. "You two argue like an old married couple."
Meanwhile, Angel and Ty had found a prime spot for their impromptu beach ball tournament.
"Ready to lose?" Angel taunted, tossing the ball into the air.
"Ready to win," Ty corrected, lunging to return the serve.
Their game quickly devolved into a competitive display of wildly exaggerated victory dances and hitting the ball as hard as they could. At one point, the ball bounced too far and rolled into Oli and Ryan's sandcastle-in-progress.
"Watch it!" Ryan called, brushing sand off his arm. "You almost destroyed our masterpiece!"
"Masterpiece?" Ty raised an eyebrow as he retrieved the ball. "Looks like a sand blob to me."
"It's an artistic sand blob," Oli defended. "You'll see. Once it's done, people will take pictures of it and everything."
Back with Kane and Regie, Kane was elbow-deep in sand when Regie let out a triumphant yell.
"Treasure!" he announced, holding up a large, oddly-shaped shell.
Kane squinted at it. "That's just a shell, dude."
"No imagination," Regie replied, tucking it into his pocket. "I'm calling it our first artifact."
As the afternoon went on, the group began to gravitate toward each other. It was Regie who started collecting rocks and shells, then some of the others gradually joined in, comparing their finds. Oli started narrating his finds like a nature documentary while Sebastian went around, trying to steal whatever the others had found.
"And here we have the rare striped shell," Oli said in a dramatic voice, trying to impersonate Steve Urwin as much as possible. "Absolutely flawless. Probably worth a fortune."
Afterward, they all ended up in the water, splashing and laughing as the sun dipped lower in the sky. Darren, despite his earlier stance, finally gave in and let himself get dunked by Seb.
"You're lucky I like you," Darren grumbled, but even he couldn't stop smiling.
By the time the group laid out their picnic, the sky was painted in hues of orange and pink. They dug into sandwiches, chips, and cold drinks, sharing stories and teasing each other between bites.
"This is what I call a perfect day," Oli said, leaning back on his elbows.
"I don't know," Justin teased. "I think it would've been better with less sand in my book."
"You brought a book to the beach!" Regie exclaimed. "You have no one to blame but yourself bruh."
As the laughter echoed across the sand, the boys knew one thing for sure: moments like these were what made everything else worth it.
Should I make other stories at the beach with different ships? If so, let me know! I hope you nejoyed - A.M.
