𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 || Kazu x Scara

Chapter XVI

~*~

The summer breeze kissed Kazuha's skin. The aroma of the salty seawater engulfed Kazuha's nose. The hot, bright sun made his skin sparkle.

"Woohoo!" Thoma yelled in excitement. "Come on, Kazu!" He held out his hand for Kazuha to grab. Kazuha smiled and grabbed his best friend's hand but immediately froze in place when he heard the shutter of a camera go off.

Scaramouche stood there with a white camera covered in colorful circle stickers. Kazuha wasn't sure if it was because of his newfound feelings towards the male, but he swore he saw Scaramouche glowing. Scaramouche wore black swim shorts and a white beach UV jacket. Thoma quickly let go of his best friend's hand and ran away to where Cyno and Tighnari were sitting.

Cyno and Tighnari informed the group chat early in the morning that they would first arrive at the beach. Their neighborhood was ultimately closer to the beach than the rest of the band members. They assured everyone they would secure a spot before the beach got packed with people. Cyno and Tighnari laid out a few towels for everyone to sit on and set up two beach umbrellas. Thoma and Kazuha were in charge of providing snacks and drinks. They brought sodas, chips, sandwiches, and water. Scaramouche was in charge of taking a speaker for music, providing a volleyball, and taking pictures.

At first, when Scaramouche offered to take pictures in the group chat, everyone was taken aback. No one expected him to have that sort of hobby.

Kazuha looked at Scaramouche and he could feel his heart beating. The sound of his heart pounding in his chest was almost louder than the crashing ocean waves.

Before arriving at the beach, Kazuha took forever to leave his house because he was worried about his looks. Kazuha has never been the type to care but suddenly, it mattered so much to him what Scaramouche would think. Unfortunately, Thoma had to deal with Kazuha's shenanigans. Every time Kazuha would change swim shorts or tank tops, he asked for Thoma's opinion. His response was always the same, 'it looks fine, Kazuha.' However, Kazuha still felt something looked off so he would change yet again. Thanks to this, they both arrived at the beach later than expected. In the end, Kazuha wore red swim shorts and a white tank top.

Kazuha cleared his throat, "Hi, Scaramouche."

"Scaramouche? Why my full name? Did I do something wrong?" Scaramouche asked.

Kazuha shook his head in a panic, "No, no! Sorry, I..."

"Relax. I'm just messing with you," Scaramouche teased. "Come on. Let's go." They both walked side by side.

They arrived at the spot Cyno and Tighnari had chosen for everyone. Thoma was already applying sunscreen ready to go inside the ocean. Cyno forced Tighnari into playing TCG. Although Tighnari was complaining that he didn't want to play,  his actions said otherwise. He was trying to play the game and beat Cyno. Everyone knew that Tighnari was enjoying himself but refused to actually say it.

Scaramouche placed his stuff down in a corner before also applying sunscreen. Kazuha had already applied sunscreen before arriving at the beach. He took off his tank top and waited for to see what Scaramouche would do next.

"Hey, Kazuha! I'm going to go for a swim. Wanna join me or are you gonna stay here?" Thoma asked.

Kazuha peeped over at Scaramouche who had just finished applying sunscreen. He was torn between going with his best friend or staying with Scaramouche. After a lot of mental debate, he finally decided, "Sure."

He followed after Thoma. Kazuha touched the water with his hand to check the temperature before completely stepping in. The water was a bit warm, a perfect temperature for Kazuha. Suddenly, he felt a splash of water hit him. It wasn't from a wave but instead from his mischievous best friend.