~DIVERGENT~ Paradise

Day 6

"Land ho!" Christina says as we stand on the bow of the ship. "I've almost forgotten that anything exists other than this ship."
"That's good, isn't it?" I say.
"Yeah. I mean, what's the point of this nice vacation if you can't forget your life for even a few days."
"Yeah," I say. I know she doesn't realize it, but her comment brought me out of the little haze I've been in since last night. The people we have met are great, and some of them even go to school with us, but not all of them. Things won't be as fun and carefree when we get back; we'll most likely be strangers once more.
We meet up with our group guide who is taking us on our first adventure out into Cabo San Lucas. We packed a bag with a change of clothes, because first up is snorkeling.
We board one of the waiting boats, and it takes us out to a nearby reef. After a quick safety lesson, Christina and I are ready to go. We hold hands as we fall overboard together, and take off.
The reef is unlike anything I have ever seen before. The fish darting in and out, sea turtles swimming by, even a passing sting ray comes close enough to touch. Every animal we encounter is such a vibrant shade of purple or blue or orange, I swear they will have to invent a new color just to describe them.
We pose for a crew member with an underwater camera before swimming over to an area where we are given some anchovies to feed the anemones. This is easily one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
Just as we surface, a crew member from the boat alerts us to a pod of dolphins nearby. We're told they're friendly, but that they don't always come near. We wait with the rest of the group patiently, but they never get closer than maybe 100 feet. Still, we laugh and enjoy watching them swim and play and jump out of the water for us.
"I can't wait to see that picture we took. I bet we look like dorks," Christina says with a laugh on our way back.
"Dorks or not, it'll still be a cool picture to have."
We rinse off and change on the beach, and head into town to explore. Most things here are fairly Americanized, so we don't feel too out of place, but there are still some places that we find where we have to communicate with gestures and laughs. The first one is a bakery.
We are drawn in by the delicious smell of baking bread and sweet sugar. The woman behind the counter greets us, and waits patiently as we point to various items. She gladly creates us a sample box of her 'favoritos', takes our money, and shoos us out the door.
"This is the best bread in the whole world," I say as I take another bite of the sugar coated piece Christina and I are sharing. "It needs an award."
"Two awards," Christina adds.
We pack the rest away and find another shop that sells souvenirs. We buy the obligatory sombreros and take more pictures, unable to control our laughter at one point. We excuse ourselves when the woman behind the counter shouts something that neither of us understands and glares.
"I think we made her mad," Christina says.
"I think we did too. Hey look, there's a park over there. Let's just go relax under a tree."
When we get there, I see that it's not just a park, but an almost mini jungle in the middle of the city. We find a nice shady tree to lounge under, close our eyes, and take full advantage of the amazing ocean breeze that's blowing.
"I could stay here for the rest of my life," Christina says lazily.
"Me too."
"But if you stay here, who will take care of all the shopping?" A deep voice interrupts. I open my eyes and see Four standing there. I prop myself up on my elbows and see the others making their way towards us.
"Are you following me?" I joke. He returns my question with a small smile.
"Hey, I resemble that comment," Christina says.
We stare at each other for a few moments as the others throw a blanket down and join us.
"Picnic time!" Uriah says as he rubs his hands together. "I'm starving. What did everyone find?"
"You're always starving," Marlene retorts.
"I can't help that I work up an appetite when I'm with you."
"Eww! I don't need to know any of this!" Shauna shouts. "Shut up Uriah, and keep it in your pants."
They all laugh and start pulling various items out of their bags; Fruit, carne asada, cokes in glass bottles.
"We have dessert!" Christina chimes in as she takes a new spot near Will with our box of sweet bread.
"Mind if I join you?" Four asks, pointing to the spot Christina just left.
"No," I say as I watch him sit. There's something about him; he's quiet, saying just enough to be a part of things, but never in the ppspotlight.
He's a lot like me.
Christina is the only person I have ever really opened up around. To everyone else I am just that girl who likes science and does well in school. Sometimes it makes me feel like I lead a double life, but Four seems to bring that other side of me out, and I think I'm finally understanding why.
I make a plate, grab a coke, and make myself comfortable. I'm enjoying listening to Zeke and Uriah argue about which one of them would win in a wrestling match against a bear when I feel a nudge on my shoulder.
"Where did you find this bread? It's amazing."
"We were just walking down the street and followed the smell."
"Well, thank god for that."
I watch Four eat his last bite and smile, and it makes me smile too.
"What?" he asks.
"Nothing. It's just quite satisfying watching you enjoy that. Hey, can I ask you something?"
"Sure," he says.
"Were you following me?"
He looks over to the group for a moment before looking back at me. "No. And I didn't see you guys over here either. Zeke did."
"Oh. Okay," I say, embarrassed that I asked now.
"Can I ask you something?" he says.
"Sure."
"Well, it's more of a tell than an ask. He suggested we come over here, and I didn't object, because I don't mind being wherever you are."
I blush immediately and look away. That is the nicest, and probably most romantic, thing anyone has ever said to me, and the only thing I can think of saying at the moment is, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," he says.
We sit in silence together for the rest of the picnic as the other animatedly talk, only joining in for a laugh now and then.
"So can I just say this now? I think I speak for everyone when I say that you two have pretty much become members of our bitchin' ass gang," Zeke says as he points to me and Christina.
"Bitchin' ass gang?" Shauna says as she gives Zeke a look of confusion.
"Quiet woman, you are ruining my speech. And you know I love you when I call you that so please don't give me that look. Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I think I speak for everyone when I say, can we please just do everything together from now on? I'm tired of listening to everyone talk about you all the time, and I'm tired of everyone constantly looking for you. If we just hang out for the rest of the trip, everyone wins. All in favor?"
"Aye!" the group shouts as they all raise their hands. I look at Christina who is laughing hysterically before I look to my right. Four is holding his hand up high too; I smile. I look back to Christina who gives a quick look between Four and I before nodding her head enthusiastically.
"Okay," I say.
"Yes!" Christina shouts.
Everybody cheers and Zeke and Uriah stand and pretend they just scored a goal and do a little touchdown dance.
"Okay, seriously. Are they always like this?" I ask Four.
"Yep."
"What the hell have we ourselves gotten into?" I say. He laughs and so do I.
"It's not that bad, I promise. You'll get used to it. They love you already, you know," he says.
"No, I didn't," I say.
"Well, you're easy to love." I swear I blush so hard, even my hair turns red. "Enjoy it, Tris. It's okay to let go a little."
"Giving advice you don't always listen to, I see."
He smiles. "Something like that."
Uriah pulls a football out of his bag, and he and Zeke toss it back and forth while trying to bribe us to join them in a quick game.
"He plays football," Four says. "Got a scholarship and everything. He deserves it though. I've known the two of them since my childhood. Their father died young and their mother did all she could to take care of them. She could only afford to send one of them through college though, and since Zeke was the oldest, he got to go."
"That's kind of depressing," I say.
"Nah. If you knew them, you wouldn't say that. Nothing could ever bring either one of them down. I mean, can you even look at either one of them without smiling?" he asks.
"No, actually," I say with a grin. "What about you?"
"That Tris, is a much longer, and more complicated story. Short version? My mom died when I was young, and my father is an asshole. But he's rich, and I don't have a problem taking advantage of that."
I look at him to see if he is joking, but it's very clear he isn't. "I'm sorry," I say.
"Don't be. I have to look at everything in a positive light because if I don't, I think I might fall apart."
Without a second thought, I reach out and place a hand on his back. He closes his eyes and let's out a loud breath. "Hey," I say. "I know we just met, but if you ever need to talk about it, about anything, I'm here."
"Thank you," he says softly.
"You're welcome."
The moment passes when Zeke throws a football towards us, and Four catches it. He pulls me up and we join a side, playing football and having a good time with our friends until it's time to head back to the ship.

I'll be updating later today too.
Thanks for reading!
Be brave,

Christina Eaton 🔥