Unnatural// 5SOS & 1D

Breathe// part three

l.h: Drifting Away

"Man, you've been acting jittery all day." My best friend Connor complained. "What's up with you?" I shrugged, running a hand through my hair as our teacher droned on about our homework assignment due next week.

"Nothings wrong." And it was true, nothing was wrong. I was just out of it. Another two days had passed and I had yet to see Noella again. If she hadn't shown up, maybe I would have gotten over her. Or I could have suffered for the rest of my life in solitude, obsessing over mermaids but I guess I'll never know.

"Well, something is definitely up. You can't lie to me. I'm your best friend." Connor continued, nudging me.

"I'm not lying." I assured him.

"You're just not telling me the whole story." I always forget how observant he is. "Do you just not want to tell me?"

"No, it's not that." I had been dying to talk to someone about this for the longest time. I was just afraid of the consequences of that. Besides, I had promised Noella I wouldn't say anything to anyone.

"If I guess right will you tell me?" He wasn't going to let up so I sighed and nodded my head. The most I could probably tell him was that Noella was a girl I had met. "Something to do with your brothers?"

"Nope."

"School?" I shook my head as Connor tapped his chin thoughtfully. His face lighting up, he snapped his figners and pointed at me, grinning madly. "It's a girl."

"Alright fine, it's a girl."

"Knew it." Connor said happily, despite the fact that it took him two tries to get there. "So who is she? Someone that goes here?" He looked around the classroom as if she might be in this room but I shook my head.

"She doesn't go here. She just lives around here." He looked back at me, a confused expression crossing his face.

"She's a tourist? At this time of year?"

"No, she's not a tourist. Her parents are.." I paused. "Marine biologists." Close enough.

"Soooo. What? Her parents took her on a trip away from school to study fish?"

"A species of fish that's going extinct." I corrected, beginning to fidget. He was asking too many questions I didn't have the answers to.

"Which one?" Damnit. We're there even species of fish that were on the verge of collapse?

"I don't know. I can't remember." I decided to go for 'stupid boy can't remember what girl told him because he was too busy being infatuated by her'. Connor nodded his head slowly.

"Alright, well what's her name? What does she look like?"

"She's just a girl Connor. It's not that big of a deal." He scoffed.

"It's a pretty big deal if she's making you loose focus. What'd she do to you?" Hell, that's what I wanted to know too.

"Nothing. She's just, a pretty girl." I murmured as the bell rang, signaling the bed of class. Connor and I stood but he was eyeing me suspiciously.

"Okay well, whenever you want to tell me the truth I'll listen. See you later dude." He clipped my shoulder, walking out of the classroom. I sighed. I guess I need to work on my lying techniques.

----

I headed down to the beach after school let out. I knew there was probably no chance of seeing Noella out there in broad daylight but I needed to clear my head. There were a couple of families and teenagers scattered here and there but otherwise, there wasn't much going on at the beach. I just took my shoes off and began walking around in the sand